Making Moments into Memoir with Colleen Anderson -G26100106
“Learning stamps you with its moments. Childhood’s learning is made up of moments. It isn’t steady. It’s a pulse.” — Eudora Welty, from One Writer’s Beginnings
Eudora Welty was right. But it’s not only children whose memories are fragmentary, like snapshots. For many or most of us, the significant times of our lives appear as crystallized visions, waiting to be revisited and savored.
In this workshop, we’ll call up some of these times, explore them with all of our senses, and retell them in language that can surprise, inform, or entertain a reader – whether it’s a beloved grandchild or the person who just bought your book.
Look around your home. Notice your keepsakes. Why do you keep them? Where – and who – were you when that particular coffee cup, necklace, or carpentry tool came into your life? What and whom does it bring to mind?
Browse through a photo album and pause at a picture that reminds you of a happy event, an adventure, or a time of deep emotion.
Bring your “moments” to Ghost Ranch. In this workshop, you’ll find a safe, supportive place to examine and develop your stories. You’ll read and hear examples of different ways to approach a memoir, and get gentle guidance from your workshop leader and your peers.
This workshop is open to both beginning and experienced writers, as well as poets and songwriters. There are many ways to tell your story!
Instructor
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Colleen AndersonColleen Anderson is a writer, songwriter, and graphic designer in Charleston, WV. Her poetry, short fiction, and essays have appeared in Redbook, Arts & Letters, Antietam Review, The Sun, and many other publications.
Her book publications include a children’s chapter book, Missing: Mrs. Cornblossom, which won a Moonbeam Children’s Book Award, and a poetry chapbook, Bound Stone. Her essays for WV Public Radio have won national awards, and she has produced three albums of original songs.
Her writing has earned two Individual Artist Fellowships from the West Virginia Commission on the Arts as well as residency fellowships from the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation of Taos, New Mexico and Monson Arts of Monson, Maine.
Colleen has led writing and songwriting workshops throughout the U.S. and is an enthusiastic Read Aloud volunteer at Piedmont Elementary School in Charleston, WV.
Visit her website at colleenanderson.com.