It’s a mad dash to the finish line, or so it seems.  I’ve been putting together parts of the journal and so far it’s looking great.  We have about 40 submissions for LCDC so far and I’m hoping for more from the ladies, the men and Turning Point as well.

We don’t have a lot of art this year, so I’m not sure what we’ll be doing for the Cover.  We have a few weeks still, so I’m hoping we get some things in this week or the week after break. 

It’s amazing to see everything that’s been submitted so far.  It gives you a real sense of accomplishment and achievement.  I find myself more and more excited for the ladies and for their end of year reading.  We’re still not sure if the men will be reading as well.  I’ll make a note to ask Gus and Vince to ask their men’s group again.  The men’s work has been a joy to read, getting that other-gender perspective. 

Some of the poetry we’ve received is pretty outstanding.  Some of the girls have really raised the bar in a sense.  A few pieces step outside the personal narrative, it seems, and explores more abstract ideas and concepts/themes.  In a survey that I gave to the ladies, many of them are interested in taking reading with them, poetry in particular.  Next semester we may try to hand out reading for them to take away and attempt to discuss the reading when they return.  I think it might be fun to look at literary elements as well as crafting elements.

They also showed some interest in letter-writing and creative non-fiction. I may print out something from this website: http://womenandprison.org/motherhood/kebby-warner.html

and see how they react to it. 

Did a huge amount of “housecleaning” for SpeakOut, including getting a list of submitted works for the ladies to double check, an updated permission to publish spreadsheet and some minor organizing. 

To DO LIST

FINISH TIMESHEETS (I fail at timesheets – it’s my resolution to be better at this for the rest of the semester and next semester as well)

Print off copies of takeaway reading for ladies

Research non-fiction

Bug Alpha Graphics (their quotes are not helping me)

We’ve reached the halfway point in this semester’s SpeakOut! workshop (for the fine ladies at the LCDC).  I have to admit, it’s been a whirlwind so far.  I can’t believe we’re on the downside of this.  I’ve been getting more and more submissions for publication.  I’ve really enjoyed putting things together, arranging what’s been turned in and playing in the publication page-maker.  I think we’re going to rock it.

Vince and Gus are jamming with the men on their end and we’ve discussed the possibility of including the men’s work with the women’s (and also including Turning Point’s submissions as well).  Personally, I love the idea of a huge collaboration for SpeakOut!  I think we should go for it and go as big as our budge will allow—turn out something that’s really reaching across the age/gender spectrum. 

*Note to self: Call the publisher to see what the page maximum is for the booklets. 

This Wednesday, Trai Cartwright, a fellow MFA graduate student (fiction) will be our guest speaker.  We wanted to introduce the ladies to some genre writing: sci-fi, fantasy, horror, romance, mystery.  From what I’ve seen of her itinerary, I really think the ladies will enjoy tomorrow night’s session. 

One thing that we’re lacking as of now are images for the publication.  I hope to keep pestering the ladies to bring art work to liven things up.

Until next time.

Steph

First thing's first.  The men's workshop (facilitated by Gus and Vince) had its maiden voyage this week.  Judging from Gus and Vince's reaction after Wednesday's nights group, things are really taking off.  I hope to get more feedback from Vince and Gus this week, so more to come on that front.  We're taking a "wait and see" approach in regard to a possible reading at the end (for the men) as well as joint publication for the men and the women.  It's still too soon to tell, but my hopes are that we can provide equal opportunities for both in terms of publishing and reading their work.  It could all come down to a matter of funding.

Last week, our lesson plan centered around women's issues and writing at a global level.  We shared writing from Israel, Saudi Arabia, Palestine and Japan, hoping to show that women all over the world are dealing with similar issues, thoughts, concerns, etc.  I think the session went well, but were I to use this plan again for Spring of 2010, I would probably give the women more time to consider their own culture: who are they?  where are they from?  who are their ancestors?  Or, is there a part of the world that has always called to them, a place they've always wanted to visit?

Next week we will present fiction to the women.  As a fiction writer I'm really excited about this upcoming session.  Poetry, as beautiful as it is, just isn't my strength.  I hope I can help give the women a bit of confidence when it comes to writing their own fiction--to write outside of their own lives and "play" in the shoes of a fictional character.  It should be fun!

TO-DO LIST

• Finish my lesson plan for this week
• Work on the Women at Noon Presentation
• Wednesday CLC Meeting
• Meet Friday (or Monday) for above presentation
• Start some hard-core research for SpeakAfter
• Contact the editor/program director at The Beat Within/The Beat Without
• Set up a meeting with someone who has hands-on experience in working with incarcerated individuals (after they have been released) - i.e. parole officers, support groups, etc.
• Create a Sample Survey to run by Tobi (this will be given to the women at the detention center to gauge their feelings on a program offered to them once they've been realeased).

Week 4 turned out to be quite a hectic session at the detention center.  Our lesson plan included: Found poetry, concrete poetry and college poetry (a visual/image-based version of found poetry).  We didn't have enough time to really sink our teeth into the last part of the evening, which dealt with the collage portion.  Some of the ladies turned in some interesting work nonetheless (given that they were under a miniature "deadline"). 

I was very impressed with what came out of the found poetry.  We passed out some lyrics for the ladies to "cut up" and make their own.  This idea came from one of the ladies at the facility who was a big fan of the Dave Matthews Band.  It was amazing to see how many different styles of poetry/prose came from the same pieces of music.  These women never fail to impress me! 

This coming week we have women's studies: global/cultural.  I may bump that to next week and move fiction to this week.  I wanted to give Summer and Cheyenne more time (if they needed it) to come up with some cultural poetry/short stories to present to the ladies. 

To-Do List for This Week

• Tinker with the SpeakAfter Blog (the prototype can be found HERE).
• Set up a meeting with Carrie Lamana to discuss computer/internet literacy (in specific regard to the Speak After prototype).
• Work on a Visual Representation of Challenges (within my project area).
• Skim over the Brinner Foundation Grant.
• Browse the website "Beat Within."
• Begin research on "This I Believe" at the local level.

My name is Stephanie Train and this is my second semester working as a creative writing facilitator at the Larimer County Detention Center (women's workshop group).  Last Spring, I was the new kid on board, learning from Tobi Jacobi, Tami Woods and MacKenzie Moore.  I have to admit that when I first began, I was a little overwhelmed and intimidated by the entire process.  I think that was more my own insecurities as a co-facilitator.  So many doubts entered my mind:

• Will I do a good job?
• Will I be able to help these ladies use their inner, creative voice?
• Will I be able to avoid looking like a complete dolt.
• What am I talking about?
• What am I doing?
• Panic!

But, as the semester progressed, I became more and more comfortable with my presence as a co-facilitator and with my own abilities as a writer willing to share her knowledge with others. 

Now that I have more of a "hands on" position in the workshop (creating lesson plans, activities and putting together the hard-copy of the published journal that will be presented at the end of the workshop) I feel that I really have come into my own. I still have much more to learn (does that learning process ever really stop?) and a few kinks to iron out in my organizing the materials and sessions. But, I find that I’m already really enjoying my Wednesday night sessions with the ladies in lock-up. 

This semester we have two new co-facilitators: Summer Whisman and Cheyenne Moore. Summer, who taught English in Japan, is a graduate student in the CSU rhet/comp program. Cheyenne Moore is an undergraduate, pursuing a degree in sociology. Both have brought some fresh, dynamic ideas and “good mojo” to the group. I really look forward to working more with them.

During our workshops (at LCDC), group dynamics have already been formed. One inmate, who I’ll call Erin, has stepped up as a leader in a sense. Always eager to present and share her work (and offer constructive feedback to the other ladies present at the workshop) Erin has really set a positive tone for the workshop on a whole.

Last session, Tobi, Summer, Cheyenne and I noticed that the ladies in this particular group were responding more to a specific set of instructions when it came to writing. Our first two exercises involved art images and music and how these things can inspire creativity. The first two exercises weren’t as concrete, allowing the women more freedom with what they write. The third exercise was more explicit (The Five Senses Poem) and with the very detailed instructions, more women participated in sharing their work. I hope I can learn from this experience and see if I can bring more structure and instruction to the exercises themselves (in such a manner that doesn’t make them feel like they’re sitting in a high school classroom). It’s something I’ll play with over the next few sessions.

Gus and Vince joined us last week (and will join us this week) so they can get some ideas on how they want to run the men’s workshop. Very excited for them and I can’t wait to see what happens with their facilitating.

That’s it for now. I want to talk more about the SpeakAfter blog I have in the works (one that offers support to inmates who want to continue their writing once they’re released. I need to talk to Diane tonight about logistics, rules, policies.