Aug
2009 Writing Newsletter
Re-story
Life and Work
Stop Press:
new CD out: More Stories: Stories from
Some fifty
plus stories to entertain, tease , stimulate
creativity, prompt discussion… … R100 plus postage… a
birthday gift?
Dear
writer, storyteller, reader, traveller, lover of words, images, silences…
I
am the alpha and the omega the beginning and the end.
This
month I wish to meditate on the alphabet and the spaces in-between – “in the
beginning was the word.” Before that? In the beginning
was the letter? The signs scratched in the sand, on papyrus, on a clay tablet. Aspirants that ride on the breath. Consonants
that slip between teeth. The tango of lips and tongue across the
ballroom beneath the dome of the palate palace, the sibilant snake hiss… I think of our alphabet ancestors,
hieroglyph, alpha and omega …and of the question mark (inverted in Spanish at
the start of a question) – as a 27th letter?
Recently
people in workshops have been writing out the alphabet and then moving into a
piece of writing about anything invoked. Here is part of Gerda
Nicholson’s (new to writing) response:
The way she
doodled the alphabet, contradicted all the rules we were given stars for… Would
this crazy font make the telephone directory a happier book? The flavours of these letters might have been
like the old fashioned sweet-sour lumps from Aunti Habib. This alphabet she scribbled,
was now her very own, sweet and sour … She rolled them into a ball, some were
sharp – like the star that had fallen off her forehead – she picked them out,
wanting sour; not sharp. The ball was smaller now and full of edible colours.
I
shared one of Isaac Singer’s (1978 Nobel Prize for Literature) stories (one of
the stories on the new CD):
A
Rabbi prays eloquently in the synagogue. He prays for world peace, for the
generations and for forgiveness. At the end of the day he asks God, “Was my prayer well received?” God responds, “Your
prayer was well received.”
The
rabbi persists, “Was
it not the best prayer that reached your ears this day?” “Well actually no.”
“No? Who prayed more eloquently than I?” “Kefi .”
“Kefi? He’s the janitor of the synagogue. What does
he know? What did he say?”
And
God answers, “Kefi stood up and spoke. ’You know I am
a simple man and that I love you. In order that I do not offend you, I will
recite the alphabet and you arrange the letters according to the words that
please you.’”
Here
is one of my poems from Drawing Water
Beach
Light
back pressed again a
dune,
a woman dangles
her arms
on raised knees,
head slumped.
a beached whale,
who sees
no way to heave her
weight
back into water.
she does not see
her silhouette shine
as I do, walking
the sea-edge sunset.
the sky halos her
hair,
the arch of elbows,
the letter A of her
legs,
the Z of her ending.
Golden, she hunches
in a womb of light.
Try
writing out the alphabet, playing with the letters as in the sandtray… see what emerges?
Dorian’s late July/Aug Storyshops/
Writeshops
If you want
any of these in your area speak speak. There may be a
I.
Living the Questions Now. An Evening of Story-telling and Poetry R50(R80 a couple)
Sat 25 July (19.00 -) a soup, bread, cheese fire and wine
evening
Live
the questions now. Perhaps then you will gradually, without noticing it, live
along some distant day into the answer
(Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet))
What are the great questions of our lives? We mediate on, consider and
explore these questions though poetry and story telling.
Contact Evette Weyers emoyeni
@mhws.co.za 028 273 8483
2. Pietermaritzburg
Nasrudin, Oom
Scalk and the Rabbi: The Joy of Stories R80
Thurs 30 July 17.30 -21.00
Why stories? Because stories
are origins and origins are places that we walk out from. Because stories have
many feet and travel several roads at once...
because the story conjures the invisible. (Deena
Metzger)
Stories start a conversation with ourselves
and with our community. The evening’s focus is on the joy of stories from different traditions.. Listening to them,..
playing with them… laying our story down beside
them,. an interactive evening… find the story-teller within.
contact Ronel Wood ronel@ovation.co.za 033 342 2338
3.
Ixopo Zen Pen: Writing and Meditation
31 July - 2 Aug – at Buddhist Retreat Centre. brcixopo@futurenet.co.za 039 834 1863
“Looking at your
image in a clear stream, you answer the question by your very presence.” In
this workshop we explore the connection between writing and meditation. We
write and meditate on the many changes and transformations we experience as we
journey along the river of our lives. We consider how creativity steadies the
boat and how writing helps us dip the oars into dark water so we may navigate
the river safely.
4.
Rekindling the Fire An Evening to revive
our Creativity, Imagination and Love of Stories R150
Thurs 6 Aug
2009 Time: 18.30 - 21.00
I
know that there is room in me
for a second huge and timeless life (Rilke)
During
this interactive evening we enter the world of story to recover our creativity,
zest, energy and passion. We allow the imagination to lead our search for a
myth to sustain and transform us. We consider how attention to life
stories and fiction, so rich in image, symbol and rhythm, can release us from
traps create a more abundant life.
therapists, artists, spiritual seekers, coaches,
teachers magicians, tricksters, ecologists
gardeners, come and raise your story
IQ.
Venue: in
Contact: Tony Schnell 084 400 1317 eyethu1@telkomsa.net
5.
A Story that could be True: Living a Larger Life R220
Sun 16 Aug 14.00-18.00
Who
are you really wanderer?
And
the answer you have to give
No
matter how dark and cold
The
world is around you is:
Maybe
I’m King
(A story that could be true - William
Stafford)
Jung said we walk in shoes too small. He also spoke of dreams as
the royal road to the unconscious. This workshop explores how we can enlarge
our lives through writing and the relationships it evokes. We also consider how
the fictions we live by can lead to greater abundance and nobility of spirit …
as king/queen.
Venue: TBA
6.
Journaling Workshop
Sun
23
Aug 10.00 - 16.00 R450
Make your life a
work of art
[Embrace Your Past, Create Your future,
Live Life Now through Narrative Play
with Dorian
Haarhoff and Pauline van Zyl
Is
there not a certain satisfaction that natural limits are set to the
life of the individual,
so that at its conclusion it may appear
as a work of art? (Albert Einstein)
Pauline van Zyl will guide you to go within and find the true authentic
you, while Dorian will guide you through your imagination and creativity to
find the words to tell your story. Pauline who joins
me as co-facilitator, studied the arts of Reiki, Crystals, Metaphysical
Science, Metaphysical Life Coaching, AD/HD Life Coaching through VEMISA, Living
ADDventure. Passionate about life
and grateful for this adventure, this journey.
Venue:
contact Pauline Bookings: Pauline 072 220 6204, paulinem1@vodamail.co.za
7. Somerset West
Jail Break: How Stories bend
the Mental Prison Bars R390
Sun 30 Aug
10.00- 16.00
In 1794a small boy underwent surgery for a tumour (No antibiotics or
anaesthetics then). To distract his
attention he was told a tale so intriguing that he later avowed he had felt no
discomfort. The boy was Jacob Grimm.
The workshop offers a radical approach
to story telling/story listening and its possibilities for freeing us from
beliefs, limitations and paradigms that no longer serve. Stories alter our mind
body processing. They place us in the flow zone. Jung said we walk in
shoes too small. Come and try on a larger size of mountain boot.
Venue
:TBA
Ongoing activities (some repeat info)
Development Work
Last year the Storywell team I co-ordinate completed a UNICEF project
training caregivers who look after vulnerable children in story telling and
listening. Written this up as a resource
book (see site for details)
Writer in Residence
In late July I
will enjoy another 3 day spell at
Corporate Work
Story
work in organisational development is growing. Stories shape our world of work
– leadership, training, mergers, marketing, product development, client services, strategic planning. Stories influence organisations (the larger body) as much as
they do individuals (the smaller body). Unconscious stories can sabotage an
organisation. Stories made conscious can save it. When employees’ stories are heard
and received, they feel valued as an asset and are more present at
work. They feel a sense of belonging and begin to use their initiative.
Speaking Engagements
Be still when
you have nothing to say but when genuine passion moves you, say what you've got
to say, and say it hot."( D. H. Lawrence) I’m building up this aspect of my work.
Anywhere: Autumnal Stories at Home
This season I will be a storying for
groups of friends…an evening, wine, cheese, breads and tales for the telling.
Any rhyme or reason – birthdays, TV fatigue, the art of conversation, sommer. Gather a group for Winter.
This and next month sixtieth birthdays.
Mentoring
Walk with me in words. You put on one shoe, I wear
the other. Memoirs, mindfulness adventures, work in the word… genres tumbling
out of folk on the one-on-one path. Such a richness of story
here.
5-
Email
Courses: Writer’s/ Poet’s Voice Course – one-on–one
tuition
Some folks respond to structure, assignments… if so, ask and it shall be
negotiated. Here is one possibility: Do you
love reading and writing? This one-on-one apprenticeship aims to take you
further up the writing mountain and offer you a deeper engagement with your
craft. This course is structured in the nature of an ongoing conversation with
a few chosen writers or poets, (ancestral or alive) with me and with yourself.
I encourage you to keep a journal to record your observations and reflections.
CD/ Books
The
Halo and the Noose, the Power of story-telling and story listening in Business
Life R180
Want
to source a 100 plus stories? co-written with
Graham Williams (Graysonian Press). We run corporate
story workshops based on our book. Bruce Copley leading aaha
educator, sound journey man writes:
The stories are delightful. I love the skilful way in which you
explain and illustrate the relevance and connection of stories to every
sphere of our short earth walk. Congratulations for a fine and profound gift
that will I have no doubt, weave its magic. I regard
as one of the most delightful and totally captivating reads of my life.
(bruce@aahalearning.com)
For orders: from the authors or Graysonian
Press Inspirational books that
change the world www.graysonian.com +27 11 6462956 or 0836101113
Friends at Work and
Play
Mon eves at 5pm or 7pm, please
indicate preference
Enhance personal growth and honour your soul through creative techniques. Reconnect with your imaginative side
and enrich your life.
Aneta is a
clinical psychologist and hypnotherapist, has
integrated years of experience as a therapist and life in other countries with
ancient ways of being in this world.
Aneta
082 686 8118 or 021
8555415 aneta.shaw@vodamail.co.za
Holistic
wealth creation courses with the author of Money Alchemy & Money
Well (Penguin) Kiki offers weekend intensives between July and Oct,
as well as monthly Wealth-Being mornings.
Kiki writes “ I work
with money as metaphor for transformation and use writing, drawing, claywork, ceremony, ritual, symbol and my own energetic
transmutations to facilitate a shift in the area of wealth.”
Kiki
Theo ktheo@icon.co.za
www.moneyalchemy.com
Elma Pollard
You might like
to send a contribution to the Green Arts page?
Elma elma@thegreentimes.co.za
084 868 2908 for orders,
inspiration, contributions, conversations, support.
Somerset West : Muriel Connell
Life journeys R50
8 Aug Getting back to your
Dream - Exploring your Creativity -10am – 12 noon
The purpose of this Conversation is to open you up to new possibilities for
your life and to seek the way forward in a creative and meaningful way.
Muriel Connell 082 871 0993 021 853 4146
lifejouneys@mweb.co.za
Maggie, author of Jade and the Serpent’s Circle, a teenage novel on reverse
evolution (that I mentored) has just launched a writers’ forum. Innovative…
energetic…
“IZIZA encourages everybody with an aptitude for writing with an
emphasis on starting something and following it through. We have a For Kids By Kids range that encourages children to support each
other in their writing quest. IZIZA also supports adult authors on their
writing journey to publish their books. Visit our writing forum for children For Kids By
Kids and for adult writers. “
Maggie maggief@iziza.co.za
+27 83 6 222 222 fax 086 658 3336 www.iziza.co.za
Writer-sites and News (see site
news on my web. see new web address dorianhaarhoff.com The longer old one is
linked to it.
May your writing grow from these 26 signs and seeds.
Dorian
PS
Thank you to all those who pass on this letter.
Dr Dorian Haarhoff
021 855 3937 / 082 873 6802/ fax 086 511 4751
http://dorianhaarhoffwriter.homestead.com
and dorianhaarhoff.com