4 more Breakout Speakers: Jane Webb Childress, MA English/creative writing “The Art of Losing”: Poetry and Grief” Based on the Christian idea that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, this session will examine poems that can become companions for those experiencing grief and loss. Mark Sanders, Ph.D., Ph.D. (English; Higher Ed Leadership), Chair and Professor of English, SFASU “The Grief Text: Catharsis in Creative Writing” Over the past 30 years, my creative work in poetry and non-fiction has unapologetically confronted grief and loss; in writing seminars I have taken and taught, an ongoing joke has been that the act of writing poetry or of the lyrical essay is good therapy. All jokes aside, much truth may be found in that statement. Having lost two siblings (one when I was five years old and she was seven) and endured the unexpected death of an oldest child of six at age 19, I have often turned to creative writing to seek catharsis and the resultant resolution and reaffirmation in the belief and sacredness of life. The proposed presentation, “The Grief Text,” will be a reading from my work (published previously in such journals as Shenandoah or in the books Conditions of Grace and Landscapes, with Horses) and a discussion about the value of the cathartic event of writing. Jim Lemon, MS, Certified Peer Specialist, Advanced Wellness Recovery Action Plan Facilitator, Respect Institute Apprentice & Tx coordinator, Licensed Marriage and Family Counselor, Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor “Art and Story-Telling as Healing” Hope and a belief that recovery is possible for everyone will be demonstrated by the stories and artwork of these graduates of the Respect Institute (visual , and artists of the spoken word. We are persons with the lived experience of life’s challenges including mental illness, cancer, trauma and ,experience in military combat. To hear someone who has recently found their voice often facilitates a similar epiphany for the listener. Aloma Marquis, BA, MA, MFA, Adjunct Faculty SFASU, “On Becoming Human: suffering as a Vehicle to Freedom, Maturity, and Compassion” There is a spirituality of suffering, struggle, and loss which, if entered into with humility, hope, and expectant faith, reveals itself to be, along with exceptional love, the most powerful means by which people become fully human. This spirituality is accessible, teachable, and can lead one who is willing beyond solely coping with suffering and loss to creative, compassionate and generative responses that transform the individual and his/her community.
Posted on: Tue, 29 Oct 2013 02:09:56 +0000
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