|
|
Workshops
Tuesdays, 6-9:00 pm
Wednesdays, 1-4:00 pm
Thursdays, 3-6:00 pm
more about Ongoing Workshops
May 3-10, 2008
September 5-7, 2008
December 7-12, 2008
April 24-26, 2009
May 27-31, 2009
September 13-18, 2009
"After not having written for twenty-five years, I was lucky to find Ellen Bass, who encouraged and affirmed my beginning efforts. Had it not been for her, I do not think I would have gone on, and if I had gone on, the way would have been tortuous. I particularly was helped by Ellen's approach to the poem as being a process of life." "Ellen's
writing workshop renewed my faith in my writing self, and in writing
groups in general. Ellen's kindness and wisdom, both as a facilitator of
process for a diverse group of writers, and one-on-one in private sessions
renewed my confidence in myself and my work. I will always be grateful." "Having taken three of her weekend
writing workshops, I remain impressed at the subtle, indeed alchemical,
way Ellen Bass quickly engenders a safe supportive space in which a wide
range of participants create and share increasingly profound and personal,
sometimes painful and frequently humorous, work. Inspired and encouraged
by the group, I am amazed at the depths to which I am able to dive, and
then can carry the magical experience back to my home writing practice." "I want to once again thank
you for your inspiration, support and nudging. You are a marvelous teacher
and model for the creative process, the work it takes and the results
it yields in product and personal gratification. I am recognizing the
poet in myself, finding the reorganization of my way of seeing the world
and my experiences in it so stimulating at times and so right in the way
it soothes me at other times. Beyond thank you." "Thank you for being a person
with whom the effort to speak up is always worthwhile; thank you for the
generosity of your wisdom, which is both profound and practical; and thank
you for constantly articulating your faith in my writing, which has helped
me up over and over... It's about 10:30 now, way past my bed-time. I just
printed out an outline of the book's skeleton. I am thoroughly enchanted
by the adventure of organization! My metaphor for it is this: having some
'narrative structure' is like finally sheltering myself in a cabin, after
trying to stay warm for years huddling beneath a pile of sticks..." "These workshops have given my work a safe place to go before going out into the world, a sort of half-way house for wayward writing. Attending them is a reminder to me that no effort is (or needs to be) truly solitary." "Ellen, I love your clarity
and your ability to concretize the vagueness of anything I or others write.
Your insights take me to places that I haven't been before; helping me
to see the larger possibilities. Writing can be a bumpy ride, but because
you are such a fine teacher, you make it smoother." "Before I venture off on my
own, leaving behind the safety of the group, I want to take a moment to
thank you. For years I have wanted to acknowledge that part of me that
longs to write, but I have always managed to give every other part of
my life priority. With the help of your class I have rediscovered just
how much I love writing and what an important part of me the writing side
can be. I thank you for that. Your positive feedback, your gentle suggestions,
and most of all, your willingness to honor the writer in all of us--these
have helped me ease into the writing life. My real triumph? For the first
time, I actually wrote to the end of a journal! I suspect that will be
the first of many." "A writer's workshop
(or retreat) facilitated by Ellen Bass is a rare and inspiring opportunity.
I learned so much, about writing and about myself, that the experience
is still resonant and meaningful long after the fact." |
|