If you are reading this, it is likely that you feel a calling to write. There is this nagging voice that may be chronic or may be sporadic to pick up a pen and a blank piece of paper and to sit still and write. But many of us don't. This circle is to support current or future writers to help stay inspired, focused and connected.
One does not have to dream of publishing to gain endless benefits from developing a writing practice. Writing is a doorway to open up understanding of ourselves and the world around us. It is doing the practice itself that helps to unravel the innate creativity of our minds and the subtle, often unnoticed beauty of the world. We can begin to explore our imagination and experiences from all angles and have those insights move through us whether it's on to the page or to the ears of another person. We all have unique stories and perspectives that we want to share and that will be valuable to the world.
The creative writing circle meets Wednesdays from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. at St. Paul's Anglican Church . We follow a process which can assist both new and experienced writers to develop a contemplative attitude towards their stories, their own voice and way of expression.
Mentor: Sarah Prospero
Sarah Prospero is a former high school English teacher from Toronto, now happily retired in Almonte and spending summers at a beloved family cottage in the valley. In between volunteer work, she enjoys creating glass art, drawing and watercolour, yoga, not to mentions watching movies, listening to seventies folk and planning travel destinations. Sarah found her niche when she began taking writing courses - primarily memoir - at Carleton University, where she finally discovered the writer who had always lived in her heart's core; her work has been published by the Globe & Mail, on CBC's Sunday Edition, and in The Glebe Report, as well as a number of on-line publications.
Sarah continues to practise and share with others her writing at the writing circle at the Centre for Creative Living at St. Paul's Anglican Church where a dynamic group of individuals - poets, essayists, storytellers and memoirists -meet weekly to share and discuss their work with one another. The group is open to anyone who feels as though they have a story to tell - and everyone has a story to tell. Sarah's aim as mentor is to encourage others to explore those stories, and to assist them to find the words to tell them.