One of the unsung and if -you- are- lucky benefits of being a member
of WNBA is that Linda Lee, a long time WNBA member is also the
coordinator of volunteers for the Writing for Change conference in
SF. She gave me the opportunity to volunteer at the conference. Not
only was I royally treated by having meals in the beautiful setting
of the Kabuki Hotel, able to hear the powerful keynote luncheon
address by Mike Farrell, but I served as a monitor for five
workshops. I was jazzed by several workshops, but being an older
Berkeley kind of gal, (shocking to turn 60 this year!) I feel a
little like I am not quite up to the task of trying to present myself
or create my “platform” as a sophisticated, great hair, huge
broadband kind of gal, which often seems necessary in the writing
world. (I don’t even dye my hair!) So I was blessed with the magic of
serendipity to have found myself in the workshops of Susan Griffin
and China Galland, whose work I have read and admired for years.
I can remember hearing Susan Griffin read poetry in the Full Moon
Cafe in the Castro in the early 70s. Forty years later, her hope and
and vision for what is possible in this ever-evolving project of
democracy filled my eyes with tears, especially because of the last 8
years of this country being thrown so greatly off its democratic
path. Even within this, Susan has found a way to uphold our best
traditions, our best selves, and the most humane possibilities for
the future. This was a joy to behold especially after having been in
China Galland’s workshop. The take away from this beautiful and
deeply spiritual woman, was about listening to her heart to find her
way in the writing, using her nose to get the story that needs to be
told, and trusting her intuition about what she is being called to
do. Yes – we have to market ourselves, yes- we need to build a
platform, but mostly we need to write from our hearts, let our
intuition guide us and let our owns souls speak. These two women took
their vision and ideas seriously, spoke from their hearts and their
souls, and their books have changed the world. May we all have the
courage to do this.
Micky Duxbury, author of Making Room in Our Hearts: Keeping Family
Ties Through Open Adoption,(Routledge 2007)
www.mickyduxbury.com
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