October 2011 Newsletter
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| October 2011 |
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Amherst Writers & Artists Newsletter
It's Fall, y'all! |
 Dear AWA Friends,After a summer of tornadoes, earthquakes, a hurricane and floods, the weather here in Amherst is classically autumn. Which means crisping air, leaves of bronze, gold and red, and geese in honking Vees. AWA has had its share of excitement as well. In the articles that follow, you will read about the fifty newly trained AWA workshop leaders from around the world, the affiliate retreat, a program connecting AWA from Ireland to Norway, new affiliate chapters, an AWA-sponsored training in Malawi, and the results of the first-ever Pat Schneider annual poetry competition. We have been busy. You have been inspiring! Friends of AWA continue to support our efforts to maintain AWA's mission of helping those who have been silenced to find their voice. This support translates into our ability to offer financial aid to people who want to be trained, but who cannot afford the tuition. We are grateful for the help we have received in spreading this important work. Affiliates remain the heart of AWA's energy and commitment. Whenever affiliates gather, the passion for this workshop method rises and deepens. Affiliates give of themselves in time, tasks and funding. The website has proven to be a solid first step in connecting and re-connecting affiliates to AWA and to each other. It is only a first step and there is a great deal more that needs to be done to support each affiliate as a workshop leader and as a writer. Affiliate dues are a critical part of what keeps AWA going. These annual dues remain at $175 and are due on January 1st of each year. Several affiliates have donated extra dues so that affiliates who cannot afford this fee remain part of the community. Please send affiliate dues to: Amherst Writers & Artists P. O. Box 1076 Amherst MA 01004 You can also pay online at www.paypal.com. All you need is the AWA email address: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Many donations have also come to honor favorite writers. For a $20 donation, the person honored receives a postcard informing them that a donation has been made in their name to AWA. Those who have received these postcards say it is a wonderful Yes! out of the blue. We all know the Yes! of being part of AWA, whether discovering surprises in our writing or listening intently to another's risks. A prompt I often use when I am training is: "What must I be believing to do what I am doing?" I believe this is the most incredible work I have ever done. With great gratitude for your company, Maureen Buchanan Jones Executive Director
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Trainings in 2011
 Ireland Training, May 2011
The 2011 AWA training sessions have ended, with four successful events in Ireland, Malawi, California, Ontario and Massachusetts.
California Training, July 2011
The leaders of these trainings provided a strong and dynamic curriculum, turning 51 trainees into inspired AWA workshop leaders.
These instructors are Alison Barker, Jan Haag, Mary Tuchscherer, Jen Cross, Kate Hymes, Karen Buchinsky, Bisi Ideraabdullah and Maureen Buchanan Jones. They each brought their talents and expertise not only to these trainings but to their own workshops and retreats throughout the year.
Alison Barker and Mary Tuchscherer are creating new AWA roads in Norway and Malawi. Articles on their innovative work are included in this newsletter.
AWA will host a Post-Certificate Training led by Pat Schneider November 11 - 13, 2011 in Amherst. Only a few spots remain in this event. Details can be found on the AWA website: www.amherstwriters.com
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Chapter News Photo by Adrian van Leen Since 2009, AWA has deepened its membership structure in the form of regional chapters. The first to form was Amherst Writers Ireland. This creative and cohesive group of writers meets twice a year; once for a sharing of workshop news, questions, prompts and strategies, along with business matters for the chapter and a chance for members to partner for writing events. The second meeting is a writing retreat for all AWI members.
The Sacramento Chapter and AWA West in the Bay Area formed second. These two groups operate independently of one another, but the members often cross-pollinate their resources. Readings, retreats and business meetings are a twice-yearly occurrence.
Two new chapters are forming as the result of both long-standing AWA affiates and newly trained workshop leaders coming together. A Toronto chapter is already well populated with visionary leadership and a deeply committed core of participants. North Carolina will be the focus of an AWA South Chapter, with leadership and members that are dedicated and vibrant.
These chapters form the structure of AWA as an organization. Rather than a vertical hierarchy of home office to individual members, the chapters offer a local community network that mimics a web. Workshop leaders can rely on one another as partners in this work.
It is entirely possible for those who lead workshops with particular populations to form an alliance as well. For example: AWA workshop leaders who serve prison populations could form a chapter, or leaders who serve hospital communities could form a chapter. Information, resources, strategies and successes can all be shared and celebrated. Each connection makes not only AWA stronger, but each individual workshop leader.
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AWA Press News
Copies of Peregrine on display
On September 10 & 11, 2011, AWA Press hosted a celebration of its 27th publication of Peregrine, the AWA literary journal, as well as the winner of the first-ever Pat Schneider Poetry Contest. An enthusiastic crowd gathered at Booklink Booksellers in Thornes Market, downtown Northampton, MA and listened to readings by AWA writers across twenty-nine years of workshops, including Dr. Tom Plaut, whose book on asthma has sold over a million copies, and Gail Thomas, the prize recipient, reading her poem "Requiem."  Gail Thomas reads "Requiem"Everyone enjoyed food from Paul & Elizabeth's, also of Thornes Market, along with cake, while Court Dorsey auctioned off a full set of Peregrine journals.On Saturday, Dianne Bilyak took center stage at the Monson Library in Amherst to read from her book, Against the Turning, the most recent poetry book published by AWA Press. Next to be published is the poetry book blessed are the menial chores by Maureen Buchanan Jones. |
| Malawi Women Join AWA by Sue McCollum "I am a woman...I have a voice...which is unique...I write with it." These are the embodied voices of eleven chanting and swaying Malawian women after receiving their AWA certificates - the first ever on the African continent! The story behind that chant began over three years ago with a dream to connect to the women of Malawi, Africa. Mary Tuchscherer, founder and Executive Director of VoiceFlame Writers International, and I had been separately introduced to the tiny southeast African country in 2007. Both of us, having been deeply touched by witnessing women's struggles to be seen and heard vowed we would return. On our most recent trip in May 2011, one of our goals was to train Amherst Writers & Artists facilitators. We wanted to create a sustainable project so Malawian women could facilitate their own writing circles. Our dream, grandiose as it was, was to create a cultural revolution. We suspected when silenced women found their voices; they would be in a better position to advocate for educational, social and economic equality. Creativity and in particular, writing in the AWA style would be the catharsis for change. As we had in 2009, Mary and I began our spring journey with seven North American women and our Malawian friend, Emily. Along the way, we journaled individually and wrote in community. The aqua clear waters of Lake Malawi, a landscape of thatched roof huts, the ebb and flow of village life provided all the prompts we needed to write authentically and passionately about our experiences. We also sat in writing and story-telling circles with village women, teachers, and female elders. A trip highlight was to write with 400 secondary school girls, a miraculous feat graciously accomplished by Julie Gardner, an AWA facilitator from Seattle. After three weeks of traveling with our group, the North American women returned home. Mary and I repacked our bags and headed to Fisherman's Rest in southern Malawi, our retreat center for five full days. Here we would meet with eleven women who wanted to introduce creative writing to the girls and women of Malawi.  A Malawian trainee reads her work Our trainees traveled to us from all regions of the country. Many used the network of white mini vans criss-crossing the nation. Riders hop from one bus to the next to reach their destination. It's an exhausting trip. Three of our trainees traveled 30 hours to reach us! They arrived with smiles on their faces, eager to learn the AWA writing method. Mary and I each took a deep breath and looked at the eleven Malawian women staring back at us. Gloria, a teacher of the deaf and deaf herself at the age of 33, said, "I cry on paper." Cheu, a journalist, wants to write stories of the most disenfranchised women in Malawi. Indra, an elementary school teacher, said she wants to start a writing club for young children at her school. Carla, a baker, hopes to help orphans tell their stories. Emily, a social worker, will introduce writing to adults who have self-identified themselves as HIV victims, a bold confession for a people stigmatized by the disease. Mwai, another social worker, wants to write stories with homeless women and girls. Bettie, a special education teacher of the deaf, will use her writing skills to advocate for the disabled whom she calls "the most marginalized in our society." This is a sampling of the group selected for the inaugural AWA training in Malawi, Africa. Mary and I beamed as we looked around the circle. As we wrote with our trainees, the stories fell from their pens and penetrated our hearts. They wrote about objects... a toothbrush that spread the HIV virus, a clay pot carrying "life-saving" water, the flip-flops that prevented heels from becoming cracked and bleeding. They shared times when they felt different...lost and alone among foreigners, betrayed by a gossiping friend, isolated due to a handicap. They expressed their pain..."I was a prisoner in my mother's house;" "my falling tears never stopped;" and shame and humiliation so intense, "I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me. " Every story put words to a secret, locked deep within a wounded heart. As truths were spoken, the women learned to trust one another, a unique phenomenon in Malawi. Our trainees told us women do not share personal stories, as they risk becoming targets of viral gossip. Knowing this, it was a beautiful sight to see our group developing a bond of caring and support, a testament to the AWA principle of maintaining confidentiality to protect the writer's privacy. Graduation day came all too soon. We presented AWA certificates, sang Malawian songs and danced to their newly created chant..."I am a writer...I have a voice...which is unique...I write with it!" The celebration was joyous. We cried and hugged and vowed to stay in touch. As Mary and I stood alone at Fisherman's Rest, we breathed a deep sigh of gratitude for this new group of AWA facilitators. We marveled at these women who against all odds sacrificed five precious days away from family and work to better themselves. We knew many challenges were still ahead for them and us. It wouldn't be easy for them to find the time to lead workshops. Our physical absence would make it difficult to provide the encouragement they would need. We wondered how to support them with paper and pens, an expensive resource in an impoverished country. To learn how you can help us support women writers in Malawi please contact Mary Tuchscherer at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or Sue McCollum at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . |
| AWA Ireland Spreads the Word by Alison Barker  Youth Exchange Group, 2011 When I discovered the AWA method in 2004, I felt right at home. It embraced all the qualities I feel are necessary to live this life in a meaningful way: openness, tolerance, understanding, kindness and generosity of spirit. When I met Pat Schneider in 2004 I found she embodied all of those qualities. She so inspired me that I embarked alone on a life changing journey to the USA in 2005 to train as an AWA Leader. Pat's gentle spirit and the belief she has in us as AWA leaders has kept me encouraged and motivated these past six years. Pat's deep commitment to "empower the silenced" has been a driving force for me.
When I decided to offer my services on a voluntary basis to a local organisation, I chose the Swords Youth Service as I believe that writing can help young people to navigate the difficult journey through adolescence and to find their own unique identity. In January 2010 I began to lead a weekly writing group with seven teenagers and one youth leader from the organisation. Through this group I was asked to become involved in a European Youth Exchange Project. Melissa Monks, our Youth Leader, was the driving force behind this project, organising grants, fundraising and travel arrangements. Together we developed a comprehensive week- long programme of writing, team-building exercises and outdoor activities. In June 2011, I had the privilege of facilitating the writing aspect of this programme with nineteen young people and six youth leaders from Norway, Spain, and Ireland.
This residential event was held at the Petersburg Outdoor education Centre in Galway, which is close to the village of Cong, where "The Quiet Man" was made. The week was about sharing our voices, our cultures, and our stories with each other. We overcame language barriers, cultural differences and shyness and grew as individuals into a strong cohesive group. As a leader, I learned to be creative in my leadership, to be spontaneous, to realise that sometimes you have to gamble and be brave. On the last night, each person was invited to stand before the group and read their work. It was an incredible honour to hear those voices, silent or whispered at the beginning of the week, now confident and strong.
Once again I was affirmed in my belief in the power of the AWA Method. I believe that it transcends culture, language and age to build confidence and empower people through the art of writing. Next year we travel to Norway to experience Norwegian Hospitality and Culture and connect again through the power of writing.
Alison Barker AWA Leader, Dublin, Ireland
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| "Writing as an art form belongs to all people, regardless of economic class or educational level. . . . A writer is someone who writes." -Pat Schneider |
| A Gift of Inspiration Who is your favorite AWA writer? Someone in your workshop? Someone whose voice stays with you? Show appreciation to your favorite writer by donating $20 to AWA in his or her name. They will receive a card informing them of your donation and the knowledge that AWA continues its mission around the world. To date, over a dozen AWA writers have received this note of praise for their work. Choose your writer and let them know that they inspire you! |
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