Praise for Coming Together

Six months ago we moved our first workshop online. A week later, we realized that the tools of connection we had developed over our ten years in military healthcare settings needed to be shared. We opened our workshops up to everyone, regardless of military affiliation. We sketched out a schedule. We invited some of our favorite writers to facilitate. We added sessions. We invited more of our favorite artists. We added workshops specifically for healthcare workers. We added visual art workshops.

What has been built in these six months was impossible for us to imagine then, and the magnitude of it is so difficult to articulate. Each week, unlikely groups of veterans, service members, healthcare workers, first time, and experienced writers gather on zoom from all over the world to create a sort of time-space. It is the epitome of reintegration, of overcoming isolation, of connecting across difference. Folks that may not otherwise have met stay connected between workshops. Facilitators and participants invite their friends, who become our friends. Thank you to each and every one of you who have shared your story, facilitated a workshop, been generous with your attention. 

One of the most wonderful things about our zoom workshops is the affirming chat–where we respond with admiration to one another’s writing. The wonderful Joy Jacobson, who facilitated a workshop on Wednesday, turned our chat into a beautiful collaborative poem, inspired by “Praise the Rain” by Joy Harjo. Read it here.

I came to poetry because I needed a way to articulate what I was surviving. I needed space to explore joy and grief and uncertainty simultaneously. I wrote my first I-have-to write-this-or-it-will-consume-me poem when my father died suddenly. I was studying with Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg. She gently led me to the craft of poetry, pointed me to some of the basics. I kept writing. I’ve learned so much about poetry, about facilitation, about holding space gently, from Caryn. I’m delighted and so grateful that Caryn is leading a workshop to benefit CBAW’s programs later this month. Please join us, and give what you’re able.