About two years ago, I had a literary vision. Maybe you could call it a sort of ‘language arts dream’. This summer, that vision became real.
Way back in 2009, I attended the Nature Consortium’s fabulously unique Arts in Nature Festival at Camp Long in West Seattle, and I noticed there were no words there. That is, there was no literary component to the incredible array of arts included in the two-day event held among the trees and cabins of Seattle’s only campground. That’s when my vision began to take shape.
I wanted to bring words to the woods in the form of literary readings and writing workshops. I wanted people of all ages to share their work. I also imagined an interactive sculpture where people would write their favorite words or wishes on a piece of cloth and tie it to a tree branch—an idea inspired by the ‘clootie’ wells one might come across when traveling in Ireland or Scotland. I wanted people to experience poetry and other carefully selected words in an environment that was open and playful, not exclusive or pretentious.
To make this happen, I needed to put my vision into words that would inspire others to help. So I began writing grant applications, and approached Nature Consortium with my vision. After a number of attempts and much careful writing and editing, I secured funds from the Elizabeth George Foundation, which greatly helped support my writing efforts.
At Words in the Woods, as the literary event at the festival came to be called, local writers Esther Altshul Helfgott, Ann Batchelor Hursey, Jennifer D. Munro, Julie Lange Groth, Sarah DeWeerdt, Sarah Steinke and Arlene Naganawa read their stunning work. There were also riveting, beautiful words read by local Pathfinder K-8 teachers and poets Kelly Riggle-Hower and Ami Pendley. People were inspired to see young readers—including some of my students from the Family Learning Program, a community, home school organization— sharing their work under the tall trees too.
The poetry collage and haiku workshops yielded wonderful poems, and the ‘clootie’ sculpture was inundated with messages and words that were both inspiring and humorous.
Like me, the clients who hire The Writers K have visions that need words. This past year I’ve worked closely with a client who will soon self-publish a small book written for salespeople to improve their sales. We’ve been working together for nearly a year organizing, writing and editing his book. Recently he showed me the finished cover design, and it struck me how much it resembled the vision he first presented to me, and how the many hours of working with words had finally made his vision come true.
Words, first spoken, plant a seed. Written down, words have the power to crystallize our visions and to nail down the important aspects of our biggest dreams. Written words create a place where other people can see what we see and become part of our vision.
I’m grateful for the success of Words in the Woods. Through The Writers K, I’m also honored to be able to use my writing skills to help make the visions of others become a reality.
