Renee is Writing

In the early 1950s a group of monkeys on an island was observed and a very important lesson emerged. Sweet potatoes were dropped from airplanes for the monkeys and they began to eat them. However, not liking the grit of the sand on the potatoes, one young monkey went to a nearby stream and began washing the sand off the potatoes. She taught her mama to do the same and pretty soon all of the monkeys on that island were washing sand off the sweet potatoes in the stream. At a certain point a total of one hundred monkeys were engaged in this potato washing activity and, to the surprise of scientific observers, at the same time monkeys on other neighboring islands began to wash their sweet potatoes too. There is speculation as to whether or not this actually happened or if it is a folklore story used to present a point. The point is this: If enough people, or monkeys as it were, engage in a specific activity, soon other tribes will begin to do the same. The lesson seems clear and ...

I believe that poetry, both reading and writing it, has the power to fill our hearts, change our minds, and feed our souls. When prose refuses to bend and comply with my expressive wishes I turn to poetry in order to get my feelings on paper. I prefer accessible poems and poets who I can relate to, who see the world in such minute detail that I view the world in new ways and come to think and feel differently. Early morning is the most conducive time to write poetry, read poems, or read about poetry. The stillness and quiet, the blue gray light of dawn, a bird singing somewhere on a tree branch. The sun peeking like a rose over the tips of the trees all lend an ethereal feel that sings poetry to me. Today I received Mary Oliver's newest collection of poems called "Devotions." It is a collection of poems from all of her previous books. I never tire of reading her work. So singularly does she describe the fauna and flora of her native homes of Ohio as a child, Pr...

For the past few weeks art has overtaken my writing energy. I love art journaling and using visual images to express myself. I also love getting paint all over my hands and engaging in play on the page through intuitive abstract painting. But at heart am a writer and I need to get my head back in that game. I did accomplish quite a bit of writing in the online class I took in August, but once it was over I returned to art. Now it's time to write and as synchronicity would have it Melanie Faith is offering a prompted daily writing class through WOW-womenonwriting.com . It begins on November 1st--just in time. I have a few weeks to reset my mind. Melanie is a wonderful and supportive teacher and I have taken many classes with her in the past, both in fiction and poetry. Her guidance is wonderful and she shares lots of prompts, quotes and inspiration on a daily basis. The class lessons are guided by Natalie Goldberg's book "Writing Down the Bones" which is an iconic wr...