Wisdom Quarterly: American Buddhist Journal: Free writing workshop: How to story (5/6)

Tuesday, May 6, 2025

Free writing workshop: How to story (5/6)

American women set gowns on fire for wedding (The Indian Express) - Sati in Iowa?

WHAT HAPPENED?

It was a full house of participants gathered on a damp and drizzly evening. Next local poetry event is May 15th, 4:00-6:00 pm at the SPARC Centre Gallery. Also in attendance were the current Poets Laureate Sehba Sarwar and Lester Graves Lennon, who announced the upcoming "Poetry & Cookies" on Saturday, May 17, 2025, 4:00-6:00 pm (with a surprise open mic portion, so sign up). A beautiful land acknowledgement to the Native Tongva (Kizh, Gabrieleno) tribe of Los Angeles and region including the Channel Islands was delivered by the head of the library to launch the evening. Handouts were given and introductions were made. Then we got to writing, prompted by the workshop leader, former library Poet Laureate Dr. Lipkin. Grief was expressed about the Eaton Fire four months after the LA Fire devastated the city.

These three submissions, written on site, stood out. A page of writing prompts was handed out with leading phrases meant to trigger the creative process and the start of a poem (prompt shown in green).

THE NIGHT WAS DARK BUT THERE WAS ONE LIGHT.

The tunnel, the train, ah, the 6:40, yes, right on time. And here by its light, the reason for my stumbling, railroad ties -- and this long slick guide, steely, cold in pointing only this way or that. You see, I can't go back. I was fated forward roam, here alone, at night, right on track, in search of some way out. Then came the breeze, a breath, fresh air cool on my face -- with something left to face, over there, one more thing, right there. The night was dark but there was one light.

The two hours raced as we each wrote four pieces -- a fairytale, elegy, persona poem, and a prompted piece. Poets love to "paint" outside the lines, so every work of creativity was its own, each somewhat elegiac for what was lost to the fire. Only a small percentage of the participants were men; one cried as did another woman, who read and read every chance she could get, apparently dying for validation.

Fire Gained a New Power

Eaton Fire burned down to Woodbury...

Who knew, not I, that Fire had the power to fly

from up to down and back again

from crest to Woodbury and even Washington

The Monster of All-Consuming Light

The Mountain Ogre who gorges on the gorge

The Fiend who in fright delights --

with wind and its own weather and lines

that arc to heaven to call down lightning strikes

Bunnies and bears, feral felines, oak-gall-eating

co'yotes, sinuous serpents skewered on spits

of dangling branches -- and

everywhere Embers

The power of flight

The power of fire

to take aim and consume

all it desired as if to say

All that lumber you took with not a sign of respect,

I will fully feast on just the same

Alternate Endings

Would I have it another way, the fire?

Better it had never been?

No, there's something in it, something perfect.

The Akashic Record is a bin -- so to have it

"different" means it's somewhere the same:

IT - IS - WRITTEN.

But I would my part rearrange:

Just as every smart accused person "lawyers up,"

I'd "insurance up" in advance,

take a policy out on myself, homeowner's, full

coverage, renter's, and lots and lots of comprehensive.

You see, in every down market, someone wins.

Every "loss" is to someone's advantage.

Foresight is hindsight turned on its head

by the insertion of time, which spoils the equation.

You'll pay me how much for my cars?

I get to rebuild in the same spot?

If I'd known that, I would have sang,

"Let it burn, let it burn, let it burn."

EVENT DETAILS

Into the Woods: Using fairy tales to tell YOUR story with Elline Lipkin

Poet Laureate Elline Lipkin

Fairy tales have been around for centuries because they capture something essential about the human experience.

In this workshop, we will use fairy tales and their tropes as inspiration to write about our own lives.

Thinking about the forest, the animals, the seasons, and the symbolic characters we find in fairy tales, we will explore the persona poem and elegy, among other exercises to spark the imagination, to celebrate and commemorate Altadena, and to process grief.

The workshop is FREE and open to the public -- all ages and backgrounds welcome.

Please bring a notebook and pen if possible; otherwise, the Altadena Library may provide writing utensils.

Anniversary of the LA Fire

The Jan. 7th fire was the worst in its history

Tuesday, May 6, 2025, marks nearly four months since the Eaton Fire devastated the Altadena community. We extend a special invitation to Altadena, Pasadena, and Sierra Madre residents and to those impacted by the Palisades Fire. Please join us to write and process experiences, releasing grief, and showing Los Angeles community resilience.

Tuesday, May 6, 2025, 5:30–7:30 pm
Altadena Main Library Community Room
600 E. Mariposa Street (west of Lake Ave.)
Altadena, California 91001 (626) 798-0833
Programs — Altadena Library District

Lipkin, UChicago Graham School
ABOUT: The presenter of this workshop is former Altadena Library Poet Laureate (2016-2018) Dr. Elline Lipkin, PhD, a poet, nonfiction writer, and academic (Prof. Elline Lipkin, UChicago, Graham School) who until the Eaton Fire had been an Altadena resident for 13 years. She holds an MFA and PhD in literature and creative writing and has been a research scholar with UCLA's Center for the Study of Women. She is the author of two books. Her third, Girl in a Forest (on triohousepress.org), is forthcoming in October 2025. She served her community for two years as Altadena Poet Laureate and editor of the Altadena Poetry Review.

Get it published in Wisdom Quarterly

Those who produce a poem worthy of attention at this workshop are encouraged to submit it to Wisdom Quarterly: American Buddhist Journal for consideration. Editors will consider submissions, and publication may be the result. Yesterday (May the 4th Be With You Day) this website had 53,000 views, and today (Cinco de Mayo) 56,000 and counting (running from 5:00 pm to 5:00 pm). Moreover, the past six months have seen 2.94 million views. So publication may draw considerable attention to your efforts.

(Fail Army) Trying is not failing; failing is not trying | Funniest of the Week

Poetry open mic in South Pasadena

Read works of poetry, short fiction, memoir, slam, spoken word, rap, whatever in a circle of area poets at South Pasadena Arts Council SPARC Centre Gallery located at 1000 Fremont Ave., South Pasadena, third Thursdays, from 4:00-6:00 pm. FREE

WEEKLY: Meditate with Amy Rutledge (Tuesdays via Zoom)

Meditate with Amy Rutledge, virtually, on Tuesday, May 13, 2025, 6:30–7:00 pm via Zoom. All-ages are welcome. Join Amy and others for a guided half-hour meditation via Zoom in recognition of Mental Health Month. Be kind to yourself and chill in a group for 30 minutes.

ABOUT: Amy Rutledge came to the study of meditation as a path toward personal healing after struggles with the effects of Lyme disease as well as depression and anxiety. She found that it helped her in unexpected ways when many other approaches failed. More: meditatewithamy.com