Youth Writing Camp - June 11, 2013

  Saturday Writers Presents our 2nd Annual Youth Writing Camp!

I’m very excited to announce our second annual youth writing camp. Last year’s camp was a tremendous success and we have great things in the works for next month. As the Youth Outreach Coordinator, I have the pleasure and privilege to coordinate the camp and hopefully, create a wonderful learning opportunity for our young writers.

Join members of Saturday Writers on Tuesday, June 11^th for an interactive workshop created with the emerging writer in mind. Our writers have designed a collaborative, stress-free day focused on exploring the craft of writing and helping the young writer explore his or her talents. This one-day camp is for kids entering 3^rd-6^th grade and will be held at the Cultural Arts Center in St. Peters, MO. 

Saturday Writers offers your child an opportunity to have fun, learn new skills, share writing and celebrate themselves as writers. The workshop will kick-off at 9:30am and run until 3:00pm. Space is limited and advanced registration is recommended. For more information, registration, and to pay online using Paypal, please visit: www.saturdaywriters.org

Youth Writing Camp
Camp Date: Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Cost: $15.00 per camper

Camp Hours: 9:30 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.
Location: Camp will be at the St. Peters Cultural Arts Center, located inside St. Peters City Hall- Enter through the WEST Entrance

(One St. Peters Centre Blvd. St. Peters, MO 63376)
What to bring: Campers should bring their preferred writing utensil(s), a spiral notebook, a sack lunch, and an optional water bottle. Lunches cannot be refrigerated or heated so plan accordingly. Snacks will be provided.

Photo Credit: Saturday Writers

In the Works

   I am excited to announce that two of my short stories have been chosen for publication in Well-Versed. What an honor to be among the authors chosen for this work!  

   Well-Versed, an anthology by the Columbia Chapter of the Missouri Writers Guild, has been in print for ten years now. Last year it was named best anthology published by any Missouri Writers Guild chapter. I am excited to be included in such a fine literary work and can only hope my stories do it justice. 

   No word yet on the release date, but we have all been busy with edits. Here’s a sneak peek at the cover in the meantime. 

Photo Credit: Columbia Chapter Missouri Writers Guild

Communication: A Basic Desire

     Last week I had the pleasure of viewing the documentary “Wretches and Jabberers” a film by Gerardine Wurzburg. Simply put, this was an hour and half of time well-spent. 

     Wurzburg's inspiring documentary chronicles the world travels of two men, Tracy Thresher and Larry Bissonnette , in their passionate quest to change long-held attitudes about the intelligence and abilities (or lack thereof) of people with autism. Tracy, Larry and their support team of assistants, Harvey Lavoy and Pascal Cheng, visit Sri Lanka, Japan and Finland. During this time, the men give presentations about autism, communication, and intelligence. They also meet with other adults with autism facing the same social isolation and barriers. 

     The film, a beautiful mix of advocacy, personal triumph over pain, travel adventures, and humor, takes you for an emotional ride well-worth the cost of any ticket. Both Tracy and Larry grew up isolated by their autism, unable to communicate with the world around them. When Tracy was 23 and Larry 34, their lives changed dramatically when they learned to communicate by typing. Larry notes, "nothing I did...convinced people I had an inner life until I started typing."

     As an educator with a background in special education, this film tugged at every inch of my emotional being. Tracy and Larry give me a front seat to their pain and their triumph. As a viewer, you jump back and forth from cheering on their cause to dabbing away a tear after listening to Tracy comment on “autism’s death grip on my actions.” 

     I would highly recommend “Wretches and Jabberers” to anyone. You do not have to be a special education teacher, or any teacher for that matter, to benefit from watching this documentary. In the end, we all want to communicate, to have our voices heard, even the jabbering. 

     To learn more about the film, please visit:  http://www.wretchesandjabberers.org/synopsis.php

Holding tight on the hardest of days

 “At the temple there is a poem called "Loss" carved into the stone. It has three words, but the poet has scratched them out. You cannot read loss, only feel it.”

                    ― Arthur Golden, Memoirs of a Geisha

     Today we feel a loss, a pain so deep and real. We can allow it to create hatred and mistrust, especially now as the pain is incredibly raw. Perhaps we would be better served to use it as a reminder to hold tight to those we care for deeply and remind them of our love. We can give our sorrow beautiful words.

      Love and thoughts to those touched by today’s senseless violence in Boston.