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EVENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES
There’s lots of talk these days about voice in narrative, but what is it, exactly? If the voice of our story is the doorway through which readers enter, how do we let them in? How can we consciously create a voice that is compelling, readable and true? In this two-hour workshop, we will explore what factors go into creating voice, in fiction and memoir, study some examples of amazing voices in literature, do some writing, and learn techniques for crafting a memorable narrative voice—one that not only engages the reader but also invites surprise and discovery. There is nothing more exciting, for both reader and writer, than following a live, candid and curious mind on the page. Register HERE
 

Dori Ostermiller holds a BFA in writing from the University of Redlands and an MFA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Her work has appeared in numerous literary journals. Dori has worked for over two decades as a professional editor, and has taught literature and writing at the University of Massachusetts, Westfield State College, Springfield College and Bay Path College.  She is the recipient of a Massachusetts Cultural Council Artist’s Fellowship, a Tobias Wolf Fiction Award and a Walker Gibson Award, and is the founder of Writers in Progress, a literary arts center in Western Massachusetts.
The workshop will provide images, paper, scissors, glue sticks and tape, though you are free to bring images of your own, if you would like. You provide your openness to the process of discovery, along with pen and paper. People will have the optional opportunity to share both their writings and collages.  Register HERE 
 


Becky Jones has been leading bereavement writing groups for 17 years. In this workshop, we have the opportunity to use one of her favorite exercises that combines collage and writing. Originally intended to explore grief and deepen connections to departed loved ones, it can be used equally well to get in touch with characters in your writing or to gain insight into an issue that is niggling away at you.


Photo: Carol Duke
One of the most common questions about writing plays is how to get started. The germ of an idea for a play may present itself in theme, in situation, or in character. We will discuss various ways to enter the life of a play and do writing exercises to get started on a 10-minute play.  Register HERE 
 
 
Meryl Cohn’s play, Reasons To Live was named Favorite Play by The Cape Cod Times. Awards include The 2015 Eventide Arts Jeremiah Kaplan Award, The ATHE Jane Chambers Playwriting Award, finalist for the MCC Playwriting Award, and semifinalist (twice) for the O’Neill National Playwriting Award. Meryl’s work has been produced or developed at The Skylight Theatre, The Open Fist Theatre, N.Y. International Fringe Festival, The Provincetown Theatre, W.H.A.T., The Soho Playhouse, Counter Productions, The Road Theatre, and Smith College, among others. She earned her MFA at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. She is the author of the humor book Do What I Say: Ms. Behavior’s Guide To Gay And Lesbian Etiquette, published by Houghton Mifflin. Several of Meryl’s recent short stories have been Glimmer Train Finalists, and she is just finishing (she hopes) her first novel.
There is no such thing as writer’s block. Dubious? Come to the Pamela Means Songwriting Workshop and learn new tools, tips and tricks of the craft to tease out more brilliance from your brain. You will never suffer from blank pages again. Acclaimed songwriter, Pamela Means, will help inspire you to push the envelope, stretch and take risks as a writer. You will expand your lyrical menu through myriad exercises and broaden musical, melodic and chord choices with a teaspoon taste of music theory for songwriters. You will be pleasantly surprised with what comes up! Bring your instrument, notebook and a favorite writing utensil.  Register HERE
 
A multi-talented performer, singer, songwriter, composer and producer, Pamela Means’s multiple honors include being named Falcon Ridge Folk Festival’s “# 1 Most Wanted New Artist,” “Wisconsin Folk Artist of the Year,” “Wisconsin Female Vocalist of the Year,” and her politically provocative album, Single Bullet Theory, was voted 2004’s “Outmusic Outstanding New Recording.” Her latest CD, Plainfield, was released last fall.
Our March Medley Workshops are held in memory of Eli Daniel Nemetz Todd, a writer born and raised in Northampton who died in October 2016 at the age of 23. They are made possible by donations to the Northampton Center for the Arts in Eli’s honor. 

REGISTER HERE 

Sunday, March 4, 2018
 Co-sponsored by:
Straw Dog Writers Guild and Nan Parati (owner, Elmer's Store and the Inn at Norton Hill)
 
 
Featured Reader: Donna Jenson 
 

Donna Jenson founded Time To Tell™ in 2009, with a mission to spark stories from lives affected by incest and sexual abuse to be told and heard. It is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. She wrote and performs her one-woman play, What She Knows: One Woman’s Way Through Incest to Joy, which is based on her own experience of surviving incest and what she did to make her life worth living. She performs her play at conferences, for organizations focused on boys who have sexually abused others, girls in prison, college students, domestic violence and sexual assault advocates, and communities in need of healing. She leads Time To Tell What We Know writing and mindfulness workshops for survivors. She is the Board President of the non-profit MERGE: Transforming Masculinity to Advance Gender Equality. Donna is a leader, counselor and organizer who built grassroots women’s centers in New York City during the 1970’s and 1980’s and is still active in the leadership development consulting and training practice she established in 1986. Her book, Healing My Life from Incest to Joy, is a narrative of the choices she made and experiences she had that helped her heal from her childhood trauma. Published by Levellers Press, Amherst, MA. MORE
 
Here's how it works: The featured writer reads recent work and describes the journey to publication, followed by Q & A. Then the floor opens to other writers, who read for five minutes each. If you want to read, put your name in the hat before 3:15. 
 
Hosted by Jane Roy Brown (brownjaneroy@gmail.com )

 
Come listen to presenter Marya Zilberberg discuss how to break down the barriers and put Twitter, blogs and other online formats to work. Social media seem to be a necessity for marketing anything in the 21st century. But are they? What are the best approaches for a writer? We will discuss some of the successful strategies and potential pitfalls of this brave new communication ecosystem. In fact, you might want to bring a smart phone, tablet or laptop if you’d like to try out any of the platforms in real time.
 

Marya is a physician-health services researcher living in Western Massachusetts. In addition to over 120 academic articles, she has authored the book Between the Lines: Finding the Truth in Medical Literature, which, thanks to her blogging and tweeting, is used by many residency programs as a textbook of evaluative medicine. Her creative work has appeared or is forthcoming in Six Hens, Meat for Tea: The Valley Review, Cleaver, Vox Poetica, The Blue Hour and Boston Poetry Magazine, among others. If you want to follow Marya on Twitter, her handle is @murzee. 
 
 

Tuesday, March 6, 2018
The Basement, 21 Center Street
(Down the drive, in back of building, next to the Northampton Police Department)
Northampton, MA
7:00 to 9:00 p.m.



Featured Reader: Tzivia Gover
 

Tzivia Gover is the author of The Mindful Way to a Good Night’s Sleep; Joy in Every Moment, Learning in Mrs. Towne's House, a book about teaching poetry to teen mothers in Holyoke. She is a writer, educator, and certified dreamwork professional and the Director of the Institute for Dream Studies. Her poems, stories, essays and articles have been widely published in journals and anthologies including The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and Poets & Writers Magazine among others. She holds an MFA in writing from Columbia University. She lives in Northampton, Massachusetts, and can be found online at tziviagover.com.



Doors open at 7 - with an Open Mic. If you'd like a chance to read, place your name in the hat up until 7:10. Ten names will be randomly selected. The reading starts at 7:15, and each reader will have five minutes.
 
Admission is free; participants are encouraged to buy a drink (alcohol and non-alcohol available) and tip well in support of the venue.  
 
Please join us!
 
Further information: Beth Filson at wno@strawdogwriters.org
 
SAVE THE DATE
Featured Reader for April 3 - Kris Holloway and John Bidwell
Copyright © 2018 Straw Dog Writers Guild, All rights reserved.


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