Women's Writing Circle and Looking Toward A New Year

We're all struggling and we do our best to manage. As Bob Dylan said, we're looking for that "shelter from the storm."

Writing, along with a place to support other women, is that shelter.

All of us are truckin' on. The Circle plays a rewarding role in that challenge and journey and I intend to do all I can to keep our space thriving and meaningful. While women are often harder on other women than they are on men, friendship among women is fierce and vibrant. It is ongoing throughout our lives. We are bound together by a shared experience that a man can never truly appreciate.

Our final read around for 2015 was inspiring and energizing. Our voices and stories rang with humor, joy, sadness and the amazing and adventurous journey of the feminine.

Together we empower and offer each other a bit of sustenance necessary in this life to keep on living . . . one day at a time, one foot in front of another.

In May we left our “home” of five years, Wellington Square Bookshop. (We had outgrown the space there). We moved to the privacy of the reading room at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. 

We kept reading, writing and sharing. We worked toward healing, finding our voice, making the reader what poet Mary Oliver calls "the experiencer."

Writing is a lifeline, an escape from the boredom, the tedium of every day living and a respite from those we must endure.

Two years ago I wrote a blog post Every Writer Needs a Bit of 'Paris'. It became one of the most popular blog posts on this site. For me, Arizona is a place to renew and restore. I'm leaving in January, but will be back in March to continue with our Circle. 

A January 9 read around will be held at the beautiful West Chester home of  long-time Women's Writing Circle contributor Diane Yannick. We will not meet in February.

In the coming weeks, I'll be announcing changes to the Women's Writing Circle. Passing around the envelope has made me feel a bit like a money collector and I prefer not to do that anymore. Finding the best location that meets the needs of our writers and is affordable continues to be a challenge.


Changes in 2016 will include a new location and annual membership dues to participate in Women's Writing Circle read arounds, critiques and workshops. Stay tuned through our newsletter.

Mary Oliver also said that writers often give up what is "most strange and wonderful about their writing - soften their roughest edges to accommodate themselves toward the group response . . ." The Circle remains a safe haven where, hopefully, we don't ever have to do that.

So to all the wonderful writers who make the Circle that necessary life raft and shelter from the storm, a very Happy New Year from Lily and me.
 
Your thoughts, comments and reflections are most welcomed