Writing From the Heart with Nancy Slonim Aronie and Jan Freeman

What do Margaret Atwood, Joan Baez, and Edwidge Danticat have in common? Sisters! And they wrote about their unique relationships with them. 

Nancy Slonim Aronie (leader of the Chilmark Writing Workshops and Writing From the Heart) and Jan Freeman (poet and director of Paris Press) invite you to a writing retreat to explore the challenges and rewards of writing about family, particularly sisters. 

Saturday, June 11, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., at The Curtis House
14 South Street, Ashfield, MA (home of Gloriosa & Company).
And for a special treat after a full day of writing, hear Toshi Reagon at IMA, ten minutes away in Goshen! 

The Workshop:
Morning: Discuss writing about the delicate subject of family (particularly sisters), participate in writing exercises, and receive constructive, positive feedback about expressing emotion, describing experience, and craft.

Lunch: Catered by Gloriosa & Company or walk to Elmer's General Store, Country Pie Pizza, Neighbor's, the Ashfield Lake House, or the Ashfield Farmer's Market.

Afternoon: Nancy and Jan will present samples of writing about sisters, followed by discussion, and additional on-site writing exercises and feedback. All participants will leave with new work and suggestions for future writing and reading.

Workshop: $120. Lunch catered by Gloriosa & Company: $10. To register, and/or for more information, email janfreeman@parispress.org or call: 413-628-0051 or 413-374-1799. Credit card payment may be made by phone or through PayPal. Checks may be sent to Paris Press, P.O. Box 487, Ashfield, MA 01330. Need a place to stay? Click here for a list of area lodging.

Nancy Slonim Aronie offers the renowned Chilmark Writing Workshops and Writing From the Heart workshops at Kripalu, Omega Institute, the Open Center, and other national and international venues. This is her first workshop in the Pioneer Valley. Nancy is the author of Writing From the Heart and the CD The Way We Were. She is a commentator for NPR's All Things Considered.




Jan Freeman is co-editor of Sisters: An Anthology and author of the award-winning Hyena and Simon Says. She is Director of Paris Press. Jan has conducted workshops for adults, teens, and children. Her poems have appeared in The Southern Review, APR, The Oxford Companion to Women Writers in the U.S., The Massachusetts Review, and The Women's Review of Books.



Testimonials for NANCY SLONIM ARONIE'S WRITING FROM THE HEART
"Check out the audience at one of Nancy Slonim Aronie's performances: bodies lean toward her, heads nod, faces smile in recognition, eyes brim with tears. Plain spoken, wise and eloquent, Aronie speaks for us all about subjects close to the bone."  
-- Wally Lamb, author of She's Come Undone 

"Nancy is warm, wise, hip and hilarious. I laughed and learned all night." -- Paula Lyons, Ladies Home Journal 

"Nancy is so nurturing and encouraging... I learned more in four mornings than in all the other writing workshops I have taken." 
-- Gail Esposito, advertising copywriter 

Praise for JAN FREEMAN
"Simon Says is just gorgeous. I needed this book! It's wonderful. I will talk about it. I will give copies to people. Jan Freeman has written an extraordinary piece of work." -- Dorothy Allison, author of Bastard Out of Carolina


Praise for SISTERS: AN ANTHOLOGY 
"Writers including Margaret Atwood and Alice Walker explore sisterhood in this intelligent collection... The book makes clear that sisters don't outgrow their bond...Once a sister, always one."  
-- People Magazine 

"I love this Anthology. I gave it to each of my sisters (even the one I hardly talk to). The book made me want to try to write about all of us. So many memories. I want to start collecting them." -- Susan Kolton, elementary school teacher