Susannah Risley is a writer who has published short stories in Redbook, Mademoiselle, and literary magazines. She won a James Michener Award for a novel in progress from the Iowa Writers' Workshop. For 10 years she has taught writing-workshops for both children and adults. She believes that an exciting way into story-development is to ask fictional characters what their wants and dreams are; and how can characters accomplish their goals using compassion and wits instead of violence and reacting. With the use of folktales, myths and stories of either Peace and Compassion, Gypsies, Goddesses, Heroines, Native-Americans, Migrant Workers, or Immigrants, etc., children are invited into new worlds. Students learn writing techniques for creating vivid details and energetic plotting. Students illustrate their stories and make them into individual books tied with ribbons. Poetry- writing workshops ask questions like 'what have we lost, what have we found?' along with art and world poetry to inspire images, metaphors and heart-openings.
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SPEED How far down do things Start unfurling for spring? How early? At what speed? Is it like the movement of light From stars eons ago That elapses silently Through ether? Where does the light go after that? Absorbed into tree leaves, Does it travel back into the dark, Through the woody circles of time, Does it flow into the ground? No, it's known that time Does not move backwards. Trees give up to Nights and days in air, Drawing from deep Below where things move slow as starlight would in earth, Long before breath, or death or season. |