Working With 3 Great Women!

Yesterday was a fabulous day of fun, learning, sharing and discovering with Mary Alice Monroe, Mary Edna Fraser, and Marjory Wentworth. The events were well attended, particularly by members of the community (some as far as Georgetown!), and everyone had a wonderful time.

Here are some highlights:

*Mary Alice telling people to start with the action, the place, the feeling in your writing. Don't just research in books, go out and volunteer, get active, learn with your hands so you can have the feeling of helping a sea turtle, releasing a bird back into the wild, or fly fishing in the mountain creeks.



*Marjory talking about having to write poems on a tight deadline and for occasions she wouldn't necessarily choose-- and how this process allows her to go in new directions as a poet and affect people she wouldn't ordinarily meet-- a lesson in the power of collaboration!




*Mary Edna reflecting on the fact that between the three of them, they have eight children, and it's their concern for their children and future generations that pushes them to write about and make art that raises our awareness about the environment-- because they've seen over the course of their mothering how fast development can eat up the natural world.




Thanks to these three energetic, creative, committed women, thanks to all who attended, and thanks again to the University of South Carolina's Green Quad, Arts Institute, and Departments of Art and English who sponsored the day's events.