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contributed by Mary Ellen Sanger
Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart. ~ William Wordsworth
Ice cream and sex, dancing and dinosaurs – writing workshops in the aging community are like writing workshops anywhere, they explore any topic the writer holds in her heart, and breathes onto paper. When presented with a prompt to write, safe and secure time and space – and most importantly a supportive community of writers and listeners, something magical happens. Memories explode onto the page.
Even for those who say they have never written before.
In “The Creative Age: Awakening Human Potential in the Second Half of Life,” author Dr. Gene Cohen (Director of the Center on Aging, Health & Humanities at George Washington University) confirms what we experience every day with creative programs for the aging – everyone has voice and vision. Providing space for that voice and vision to emerge is one of the goals of arts and aging programs.
Through writing workshops, seniors who do not consider themselves writers are often surprised with their clear ability to capture a memory – the cherry red of his favorite slippers, the way New York City shone to her twelve-year-old immigrant eyes, the chill and thrill of a first swim across a river. A writer may not have realized that the memory of that spat with her brother over the old tire swing was waiting to be released, until asked to retrieve a memory of “trees.”
This narrative of lives remembered spills across pages and becomes a tangible, lasting record for the writer, a “This is My Life” book – the story they might not have told or known where to begin if asked to write their memoir, because they think they “can’t write” or “can’t remember.” Supportive and creative groups disprove these assumptions that limit a senior’s potential, providing the benefit of self-confidence that can spark when a senior realizes that he or she can write and can remember.
The social engagement that comes with sharing is an additional benefit of creative workshops. Our DNA seems to recall circles around campfires – we enjoy a good story. Community forms as the reader gets the spotlight for a time and shares memories that open doors and connections. The writer feels heard! Someone in the circle says “Yeah!” Another cries. Tough (often buried) emotions come up in both the writers and the listeners – not everything is sweet. Emotions happen and the community of listeners connects. This too, is good.
With simple tools – pen and paper, time and space, and guidance from a trained leader, seniors can engage their emotions, creativity, social skills, head and heart through writing workshops that leave in their wake many little miracles.
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