We kicked off our Wednesday meeting with 18 attendees and 13 readers. With George Mindling on vacation, the role of scribe was handed off to me, Kat Levato. Rod DiGruttolo, our fantastic facilitator, did a great job of keeping us moving and on point. He also laid out a challenge/project for the group. Write out a meaningful dialogue only story of 250 words or more! Folks are welcome to read them as they tackle this challenge.
Kitt Crescendo kicked off the evening with a new poem entitled "Passion's Flame" which spurned on a discussion revolving around love and passion and what inspires her.
Next, Peter Frickel read a chapter called "Big Fish" from his newest work project, a series about his travels of the breadth and width of Africa. In this piece he brought to light the battle between man and nature...more specifically, himself and a very large fish. As always, his words painted images in our minds. He drew us in, causing us to wonder about this battle from the fish's point of view. Was the fish seeking freedom or escape?
Jeff Cochran shared two pieces. The first was based on a writing project to evoke strong emotions called "Special Time". The surprise twist at the end definitely left people spooked and gasping in shock. His second reading was a continuation from his work in progress. The chapter called "Courtship" brought us back in time to when arranged marriages were the norm and young ladies were left to worry about the man their father would choose for them.
Ernie Ovitz continued with another excerpt from his manuscript, Seventh King. His research and flair for description had folks feeling hungry and wishing for a bit of venison and fresh bread!
Robert Taylor came back up from the Punta Gorda writers group and shared with us that his memoir, Hardship Post has been published! Congratulations to him! As he shared with us the first chapter, it was clear why he'd won the 2012 Royal Palm Literary award for unpublished memoir.
Pat Patterson read his epilogue. He's looking for critiques as he feels it's missing a little bit of oomph.
Don Westerfield read his most recent short story entitled "Conversation With Charlie". As is always the case with Don's work, it was heartfelt and had a few folks in the room grabbing for tissues as he shared a conversation between a man at the end of his life, talking to his best friend and his wife, both who have already gone.
Ed Ellis has been working on a non-fiction piece for a workshop entitled "The Seven Principles Of Practice". His piece had comments flowing about his knack for "intelligent" humor and discussing whether he should open with a quote on practice or stick to his own words. He, too, is looking for critique.
JoAnn Phillips shared two pieces. The first was a poem called "Faberge Egg". This poem was a bit of a shift from her normally humorous work as it focused on children and how devastating it is when they're only seen as a "thing" rather than the gifts to the world that they truly are. The next piece was a chapter from her book "Matrix of Life". This portion was mostly regarding her grandfather and how he related to the tragedy of Hiroshima....from the perspective of her 5 year old eyes. It was both painful and moving.
Susan Davis has made her triumphant return from her bike trip from Maine to Nova Scotia! We got to welcome her back and hear a bit about her travel adventure. The piece she shared with us was entitled "So Many Men, So Little Time". Sounds like a racy romance, doesn't it? Not only did she have us feeling muscle aches and pains from the steep hills she biked, she made us feel the rain pelting on her face and her meeting with the owner of a restaurant/hotel and the titillation of the potential love story between their waitress and the owner left untold as they headed back out for the open road.
Asha Anderson shared a booklet she made for the group containing several of her wonderfully descriptive poems. They left the group feeling uplifted and inspired.
Taking us back in time with her, Jenny Oberg shared with us how our senses can draw forth memories. On her way home from the last writers group she smelled the distinct odor of the Brazilian peppertree...and how it led her back to her childhood visits to Florida from Chicago. It definitely had a sweet, nostalgic vibe of youth.
Finishing off the night was Ron Badcock and a piece called "Yankee Station" set in Vietnam. Told as if by autobiography, he shared why volunteering once for a mission is plenty when you're at war.
We wrapped up on time and will reconvene on August 7th! Thanks again to those who participated.
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