Prestigious Squaw Valley Writers Workshop Now in its 46th Year
The Squaw Valley Community of Writers offers an invitation-only Writers Workshop July 25- August 1. Serious writers in fiction, non-fiction, and memoir come together for a week of collaboration and learning. Admission to the workshop has been based on the merit of submitted manuscripts alone. Over the years, the group has given workshops in Fiction, Nonfiction, Screenwriting, Playwriting, Poetry, and Nature Writing. The Community of Writers was created in 1969 by resident novelists Blair Fuller and Oakley Hall.
Morning workshops are staffed by writer-teachers, editors, or agents. The participants’ manuscripts are reviewed and critiqued in these sessions. Afternoons and evenings have sessions about the craft of writing, the business of writing, and specialized workshops. A total of 124 writers will be in attendance.
This is a time for writers from all directions and interests to come together and build inspiration in their work. “Though the word ‘community’ gets bandied about a lot, in Squaw Valley it felt like more than a word. I could feel the real bonds of friendship, collegiality, and affection that both hold this community together and attract kindred spirits,” shared writer Thomas Pruiksma, an earlier participant.
Dr. Clark-Sayles is another enthusiast. “I have been to the Community of Writers at Squaw Valley three times,” she shared. “It is a magical creative week meant to foster new work and build a community of folks who care about writing. The poetry workshop is unique in that the faculty and attendees are expected to write a new poem every night and present it in workshop the following morning. The faculty emphasizes that the work is tender and harsh criticism is not allowed. There are daily talks on elements of craft by faculty and many social events.”
“Olympic Village provides venues for hanging out and informal bonding over beer or lattes,” she continues. “There are organized morning nature walks and you can often tell a Squaw Valley poem by little details such as names of plants. Many of the attendees are housed in cabins in the valley and the late night and early morning friendships go for years. It is unusual in the degree to which the faculty share meals and events with the attendees and their deliberate attempt to keep competiveness down.”
On her drive to one of the workshops Dr. Clark-Sayles attended, she was listening to the NPR radio station. “There was a piece about human hearing and the brain’s processing of sound which intrigued me. The first night I was there and when I had to write a poem, this is what evolved-”
Tinnitus
The pleasure-puzzle of dissonance–lovers
in a symphony of slide and startled breath,
an infant calmed by a heartbeat rhythm
and I like the feel of music rattling up my ribs.
The long low moan of whale song, slow-
changing year to year, salty tides of sound.
In the ocean of my ear, sea grass hairs bend
down and electric surges sing
through coral folds of brain; little zings
of dopamine reward a wail of horn,
a thrum of jazzy keys. Oh, Cochlea!
How sad when noises—sharp,
staccato, loud– break each tiny strand
and notes begin to fade, top down the pitches go:
a birdy twitter, a satin swish, children laughing
on a summer lawn, voices in a room fading
away from sense, down past middle C,
taking out the jazz. And a brain without
a tide of dopamine turns sad and strange: poor
starved thing creating bells and hums.
Imagine Beethoven, ear pressed to the polish
of the closed piano lid, feeling for the chords.
Imagine Minotaur in his maze, thumping
on his belly, snapping hooves to stone;
driving out his silence with a body song.
You can learn more about Dr. Catharine Clark-Sayles and her work on her website: www.clarksayles.com.
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