Catherine Rees offered a session on May 24.
Catherine Rees has been writing since she became aware of a subterranean world in her body that when listened to, respected in all its voices and written down, enticed her, as an ally, with the deep desire to create a soulful, purposeful, authentic life. As the AWA Philosophy and Practices indicates in Pat Schneider’s own words, Catherine has written for artistic expression, the healing of her inner life, communication with her family and friends, and has achieved public recognition for her art throughout her creative life of 30+ years. She is an avid nature photographer and one of her leading passions is to merge images with poetic language; creating PhotoStories or PhotoPoems which invite people into deeper connection with the earth closest to them. The theme for her workshop for WAW 2021 was “Nature and Memoir” and all prompts were designed to explore our relationship with the spirit/soul of the land; ‘Genius Loci’. She can be reached at: write2life@gmail.com
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Moment Becoming A Memory
by Gail Connolly
It was the spring of 2012 and before I got a chance to get settled into the tiny quaint community of Hawick, Scotland which was a community that thrived and survived on its Wool shops, I was awestruck by the many hills and valleys in the area. The ever
reaching hilltops to the low hidden valleys everywhere you looked. Some of the hills had such beautiful shades of green covering them and others hillsides were covered in
rocks. What truly engaged my bewilderment was the feeling of not being able to capture the true depth perception of these remarkable hills and valleys. Often the distance looked to be very close but in reality the hills were miles away and not as they appeared. This image has been seared into my brain and is what I think of when I think of Scotland. This viewpoint has given me a metaphor for life, that nothing is really as clear and crisp as it may first appear.
Forget Me Nots
by Catherine Rees
For me, a Forget-Me-Not is a ‘drop-down-on-knees, hands-pressed-in-the-grass, nose-up close’ kind of experience! This tiny marvel, often gleaming in powder blue clusters, enfolding the odd adornment of pastel pink or white petals, lines the border of my garden pathway and perches its roots anywhere upon the lawn it sees fit, because it is a freely self-seeding ‘wild thing’! Right after the golden globe dandelion explosion, it announces its blueness. “How do you do, your blueness!” I greet this very alive thing. Upon my knees, I gaze at a yellow circular center with white rays splaying; a tiny sun on a clear blue day embedded in a flower. Are we not all the stuff of stars?
I have been so long enchanted by this wild blue frenzy as part of my celebration of spring, I once sprinkled an entire package of Forget-Me-Not seeds, sent in the mail by a long-time friend, over my entire back lawn. In their glorious cerulean arrival every year, I heard them sing “Forget-Me-Not”! To which I chimed, “How could I, as you sprout your bountiful blue; seducing me with your petaled grin, beckoning my heart stay true!”
Thank you for joining us to Write Around the World!
For the rest of the summer, watch our blog! We are sharing writing from AWA’s yearly marathon fundraiser, which happened this year all-online throughout the month of May.
We offer this series in appreciation for the incredible community of writers and workshop leaders that sustain us. If you’re inspired and would like to be part of the fundraiser, please donate!