As Jean Malarkey and I finish our term as liaisons to grantee partner Write Around Portland, I’d like to tell you about a life-changing experience that this connection with Write Around Portland (WAP) brought to me, thanks to ninety-nine girlfriends.
Many members know that WAP organizes expressive writing workshops for a wide range of Portlanders, including at-risk adolescents, isolated seniors, people of color, those dealing with disabilities, mental health challenges or houselessness, even grieving the loss of a beloved pet. Its workshops let participants give voice to fear, hope, grief, joy – the full range of human emotions – within a supportive and safe environment. WAP also publishes some of their work, a source of great pride to the writers.
When Jean and I first began as liaisons, we both participated in a basic, 90-minute workshop with one of WAP’s outstanding facilitators. I was so inspired by the experience that I enrolled in a 10-session, 20-hour workshop open to the general public.
There’s a certain irony here. Let me explain: for most of my career teaching in international schools around the globe, I led writing classes encouraging teachers and students to write about their lives. But in all those decades, I never dove in and wrote about my own feelings and experiences. This year – maybe it was the COVID-19 isolation, maybe I had just reached the point where I was compelled to say my piece – I let myself try it, and the workshop process took me somewhere I had never been before.
In each session, our group of seven writers was given several prompts to spark timed writing exercises, and then we would read our drafts aloud. Our skilled facilitator, Neil, would respond, and group members would follow his lead with appreciative and non-critical comments. Neil encouraged us to write in a variety of genres, providing published models, revision strategies and literary resources. And it even worked on Zoom!
Maybe the best part was that every week I received a personal, handwritten postcard from Neil, commenting on the strengths of my writing and encouraging me to continue. I had the opportunity to explore my feelings about so many topics important to me, ranging from singing – a lifelong passion – to scuba diving and sailing, to experiencing Beirut bombings and Taiwanese truths during my career living and working in seven countries and many cultures.
At the culmination of the workshop, we were all invited to select one piece to be published by WAP in a special format for our group. The piece I chose, titled “Legacy,” was prompted by a quotation from the Chilean novelist Isabel Allende: “Write what should not be forgotten.” I’m proud of it, and I hope you’ll permit me to share it here:
What I remember most about the beautiful historical house in Oregon where I grew up was the spacious yard and the gracious rooms. From the large front porch overlooking acres of hills to climb and roses and primroses to pick, it was an ideal place for a child to discover nature. From kindergarten through high school, I loved our elegant house with views of Mt Hood from my second-floor bedroom, and many family gatherings at our dining room table set with exquisite linen and china. I returned many summers from college and overseas teaching to visit my beloved parents, with plans to eventually retire there. Tragically, my last memory of our home was returning to its burning ashes, from a fire which had destroyed our historical house with my parents inside… losses I shall never forget.
Our facilitator, Neil, responded in my weekly postcard, “Writing about loss can be challenging but it’s also transformative. It’s the details that are most striking and evocative.”
I treasure my family memories even more now, and I also treasure the workshop that brought them to life. If you’d like to experience the magic of Write Around Portland’s writing workshops, you can find out more at their website.
— Susan Rinker