Description: Time in this workshop will be spent thinking and writing about joy, belief, awareness, purpose, death and beyond. Slightly influenced by poets and writers of the Beat Generation, this workshop will offer opportunities for each participant to explore personal connections to universal themes. Writing samples from Raymond Carver, Robert Boswell, Lawrence Raab, Barbara Schmitz, Natalie Goldberg, Louise Gluck, Jack Kerouac and others will be presented. Class time will strike a balance between readings, discussions, sharing, and, of course, writing new material. 

Each class period will begin with a five-minute meditation followed by short readings (poetry and fiction) dealing with the theme of the day. 

Prompts inspired by the readings will lead to short period of free writing. After each writing period one or two participants will have a chance to read their new work each day following the writing.

Discussion will focus on ideas as well as the craft of writing. 

WEEKLY THEMES:

Week 1: Joy, Belief
Week 2:  Who is God?  Who Am I?
Week 3:  Dying and Beyond

Barbara Schmitz studied writing at the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics where she was Allen Ginsberg’s apprentice. She taught writing and literature at Northeast College for thirty years, founded and coordinated the Visiting Writer’s Series there. Two of her five volumes of poetry have won the Nebraska Center for the Writer awards. Her latest Just Outside was published by Sandhills Press in 2019. Sundown at Faith Regional is forthcoming from Pinyon which published her memoir Path of Lightning: A Seeker’s Jagged Journey about spiritual practice, relationship and travel with her Sufi guide to India, Turkey, Bali, and Jerusalem. She lives on Highway 81 with husband Bob writing to the rhythms of the Highway River and practicing meditation.