Learning to write, and write well….

Janet Thomas

She is one of the island’s quiet but brightest treasures…. author & teacher Janet Thomas wrote the definitive study of the WTO protests in ’99 (The Battle in Seattle) and numerous other pieces. She offering a series of workshops this summer that will change the way you look at things, and the way you write. I haven’t talked to anyone who has taken her classes that doesn’t sing her praises…I know you’ll love it. Here’s more:

The Art, Craft & Meaning of Memoir: Summer Workshops & Fall Classes
with Janet Thomas

The following Friday evening discussions and Saturday workshops are an introduction to the genre of memoir and an exploration of memoir possibilities. They are repeated at different times for scheduling convenience. The Friday evening discussions and the Saturday workshops can be attended independently. Rides from the ferry are available for those coming from Lopez, Orcas or Shaw.

The ten-week fall classes offering ongoing support and guidance for the writing of a memoir will be scheduled later.

What is A Memoir and How Can I Get One?
A Talk & Discussion

Friday evening, July 16
or
Friday evening, August 6
7 p.m. – 9 p.m.
Exploring the form, shape, content and collaboration found within the creative confines of memoir. $10
The Yoga Path / 849 C Spring Street, Friday Harbor

Writing, Red Marks and Rebellion
Exploring Our Lives for Meaning and Memoir: A Workshop

Saturday, July 17
or
Saturday, August 7
9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
$65
The Yoga Path / 849 C Spring Street, Friday Harbor
Minimum 6 people, maximum 12
Registration: 378-3854 / [email protected]

When we reclaim our lives in writing, we make clear who we are, what we mean, where we come from, how we got here, and why. We get to live our lives twice; complete with the grace of hindsight as well as with the honesty that makes each life compelling and true. This memoir workshop is about getting away from these dastardly sound-bite, disposable times and diving into the depths of our lives where our stories save the world. There is nothing to be critical of, nothing to judge, and nothing to correct.

Many people bring to their adult lives a deep mistrust of their ability to write. All the red marks in school, the derision of professors, the impossibly subjective ivory tower of what makes “good” writing, creates a quicksand of judgment that can swallow a writer alive. And everyone who writes is a “writer.” And nobody can write our stories for us. And when we write them, we lay claim to our lives, irrefutably and completely. The only criteria is to tell the truth, to be fierce with reality, and to let the writing lead the way. It leads us into our lives in ways that deepen our appreciation of our own and each others stories. It broadens our relationship to the world within and the world without. It tosses all the red marks into the dustbin of someone else’s “right” and “wrong” and liberates us into the unique and universal power of our own lives.
Registration: 378-3854 / [email protected]

Bio
Janet Thomas was born in Wales and raised in various homes and gardens across Canada and the U.S. Her writing encompasses plays–produced from L.A. to NYC; travel writing–from books about hostels to editor-in-chief of SPA Magazine; non-fiction–from the “Battle in Seattle–The Story Behind and Beyond the WTO Demonstrations” to the recently published memoir, “Day Breaks Over Dharamsala–A Memoir of Life Lost and Found.” She has taught memoir writing for many years.
www.battleinseattlebook.com
www.daybreaksoverdharamsala.com

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