TIME: 6:45-8:45 p.m. ET
DATES: 5 Tuesdays
January April 16, April 30, May 14, May 28, June 11, 2024
COST: $50 for five sessions; $200 if registered before April 10, 2024
LIVE VIA ZOOM VIDEOCONFERENCE
“Kelly has those rare gifts of giving while guiding, innovating as she inspires, and accepting while affirming your creative spirit.”
“Kelly’s strategies for eliciting deep material from photographs continue to be very effective for me. Family photos that I always loved are enhanced by the deeper feelings revealed through poetry. Through her modeling and techniques, I have used nature photographs to inspire poems with much more creative metaphors. Her questions guide discovery about sequence, what to leave out and the most powerful voice to use in a poem.”
“Deep thanks, Kelly , for an outstanding workshop! I appreciated your enthusiasm, nurturance, creative flare, clear direction, and attentive listening. You gave me delightful new tools for writing!”
~ Tasha Paley, 2020
“I have taken classes and workshops with Kelly DuMar for years because her classes are extraordinary. Her technique of writing from personal photographs is especially brilliant. I always come away with writing I’m surprised and delighted with.”
~ Jane Knox, 2022
“Thank you for an incredibly stimulating, eye opening six months. I feel real growth.”
~ Helene D. Kelly, 2021
Here’s why you need this workshop:
Your personal photos are whispering to you–they have deeper stories to tell. Your photos hold the stories only you can write. In this writing workshop, you’ll write from personal photos that arrest your attention and unpack why they do. I encourage writers of all levels and backgrounds to open boxes of old photos from the attic or your photo stream, to select arresting personal photos and discover, through creative writing, how to mine the deeper meaning of your image and put it into words. I believe the photos we save and the photos we take show what we care about and hope to preserve, what moves and mystifies us, the people, places, stories and experiences that bring meaning into our lives. Writing stories from your photos allows you to approach your pictures as works of art – no matter the quality of the photo, you can approach the image with an artist’s perception and awareness of powerful hidden meanings and revelations worthy of development into journal entries, letters to a loved one, as well as many kinds of creative prose and poetry. Writing from your photos allows you to express the truth of what you feel - and know - and haven’t said, as you capture the beauty and deeper meaning of an image. Being in a workshop with other writers initiates fun, interesting, creative and powerful conversations that connect you to your spirit and nurtures friendships and camaraderie with others. Writing in a workshop deepens your creative writing practice and brings a lively sense of anticipation and self-expression into your days.
My next Aim for Astonishing writing webinar will meet weekly, for five weeks, on Tuesdays in 2024. You’ll write from your personal photos in whatever genre you choose under my expert guidance. Cost is $250 for the 5-webinar series: 6:45-8:45 p.m. ET. REGISTER BEFORE April 10, 2024 TO RECEIVE YOUR EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT RATE OF $200.
DATES: April 16, April 30, May 14, May 28, June 11 2024. Space is limited to 8.
Here’s what we’ll do together:
You will bring, weekly, one to three photos on the suggested theme I send in advance to explore. During our two hour time meeting, you will have time to write, share your writing, and explore issues of writing craft, revision, and guidance for how to develop your writing. Participants may choose to bring photos specifically relating to current or prospective projects in poetry or prose.
Here’s how we’ll meet:
Each week you will receive the Zoom Videoconferencing link via e-mail. When you click on the link at 6:45 pm (ET), you will be taken to the live workshop where I will see and hear you, you will see and hear me, and you will see and hear all the members of the workshop from the video/audio of your computer. You can download the free Zoom videoconference app here. It’s easy, and I will be happy to schedule a time to meet with you before the workshop starts to get you oriented.
About Kelly DuMar
A poet, playwright, and engaging workshop leader, Kelly guides new and experienced writers to aim for astonishment, reclaim their imaginations, and generate enlivening writing experiences. Her Aim for Astonishing photo-inspired process elicits profound personal awakenings, deepens connection with others, and fosters beautifully crafted writing in poetry and prose. Author of three poetry collections, including her most recent, “girl in tree bark,” Kelly is also author of Before You Forget— The Wisdom of Writing Diaries for Your Children. She produces the Our Voices Festival of Boston Area Women Playwrights, held at Wellesley College, now in its 13th year, and she produces the annual Boston Writing Retreat and the weeklong summer Play Lab for the International Women’s Writing Guild, where she serves on the board. Kelly founded the Farm Pond Writers Collective, now in its 5th year, to guide women writers to write from their personal photos, develop their artistic voices and connect deeply with their creative lives. Kelly inspires readers of #NewThisDay - her daily photo-inspired blog - with her mindful reflections on a writing life. Each post provides stunning images captured in the woods, meadows, oceans, rivers, and brooks so readers can find meaning, beauty and enchantment in every walk in every weather. You can learn more at KellyDuMar.com.
“Kelly is an amazing mentor who creates a supportive atmosphere of respect and encouragement, where we can experiment and develop the strength of our own writing styles. ”
Want to chat with me about the workshop?
I’m happy to answer any questions you have via e-mail or on the phone. Just fill out this form and I’ll get back to you immediately! Otherwise, you can register below: