Ah, the holidays. After all the rush, it’s good to relax and enjoy the company of those we love. So we’ll keep the news short and to the point. But do read to the end, where you’ll find our little gift to you.
The new year will bring several exciting developments here at 49 Writers. In conjunction with fiscal sponsor Alaska Sisters in Crime, we’ve received grant funding from the Alaska State Council on the Arts to subsidize a writing workshop on Finding Your Voice, to be held Jan. 23 and 30 in Anchorage. Andromeda and I will be the instructors, and to maintain a true workshop format, enrollment will be capped at fifteen. Watch for details next week.
In response to the changing market, we’re also launching our 49 Writers Consulting, Critiquing, and Coaching (CCC) Services to help writers prepare their manuscripts for publication. We’ll post more about that soon, but in the meantime this link will take you to our information sheet.
As if that’s not enough, our online book club is setting up for a discussion of poems by some of Alaska’s writers, to be led by Sandra Kleven. To preview the poems, go to http://www.heartworksak.net/alaskapoets.html
Speaking of poems, Ken Waldman kindly gave us permission to share this fitting tribute to the season. Enjoy, with best wishes from 49 Writers!
Anchorage, December 25, 3 P.M.
In sinking afternoon light,
the unattached spirits gather.
Some come as snowflakes,
others as bits of sky, or cloud,
or pieces of dirt hard asleep
under ice. Others as moose,
owl, raven, lynx. It’s getting dark–
this winter day so ordinary,
windless, and perfect–when a single
warm breeze from above
blows gentle, strong, miraculous
as a wave. Or a glance. Or a smile.
That’s all it takes now
for a whole outer world
to shift ever so slightly–
and for this latest season
to enter, or exit, this earth.
(first published in The Secret Visitor’s Guide
Wow, what a great poem. Thanks for sharing, Ken.
And the workshop sounds interesting, looking forward to more information about that.