PROSE, by GREAT RIFT WRITERS
On this page, we offer a few samples of prose by members of Great Rift Writers.
Great Rift Writers homepage | What is the "Great Rift?" | Lynna homepage | Events Calendar | Poetry by Great Rift Writers
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On this page, we offer a few samples of prose by members of Great Rift Writers. Great Rift Writers homepage | What is the "Great Rift?" | Lynna homepage | Events Calendar | Poetry by Great Rift Writers |
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Great Rift Writers is a diverse group of practitioners of the literary arts that aims to do justice to inner and outer landscapes. Criteria for membership is loose (and that’s putting it mildly). Most of the members live in or along the geological Great Rift in Idaho, and along the rift's associated Snake River Plain. Members of Great Rift Writers have also migrated to Alaska, Oregon, and Texas, but still participate via the internet. GRW usually meets once a month for a workshop that focuses on poetry or prose works that members bring. Bring at least six copies of any work you'd like to read and discuss. Criticism can be of the hug-and-smile, the kleenex, the bandaid, or the tourniquet-required variety. See the Calendar of Events for upcoming workshops. Please return soon to read more excerpts from the works of Great Rift Writers. |
SOLITUDE In a designated "Wilderness," most of us are surrounded by a cocoon of humanity—even if it is only in the form of signs, regulations, and designated routes. We get a taste of aloneness, a hint of solitude, without the risks of real solitude. Being truly alone is a different experience, an experience so far removed from day-to-day life most people don’t know they’ve lost it. Short of hauling you out into true solitude and dumping you there, I’m not sure how to explain the experience and the value of it. Discomfort may be part of the experience, but the sweep of the land will be open to you, the way it changes from mountain to high desert to low desert to river canyon. You will pay attention because you have to find your own way. At night, if you turn a slow 360 degrees to look into the dark, there will be no light except from stars and moon. There’ll be no city light reflecting off distant clouds, no truck rumble from a highway, no fellow camper telling you about his new boots. Then something happens that you had forgotten was possible or that you never knew was possible. Your whole self, your idea of yourself, will uncurl like a fist relaxing. A tight fist you didn’t know you were holding loosens, and you can be as big as the emptiness, as small as nothing. You can matter or not; it doesn’t matter. This is a plain thing, as plain as dirt. Not that you can’t come by this feeling some other way, but real solitude may thrust it upon you. That’s the value of solitude. You’re boundless for the time you are there. It’s an ideal state for a creative artist. by Lynna Howard, copyright 2007, all rights reserved
Lynna Howard's published books |
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Legalese: Unless otherwise noted, the text and images that appear on this web site are copyrighted material. Please do not copy or redistribute these materials in any way without prior permission. Copyright 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007. Thank you, Lynna Howard, Bill Peters, Amanda Jackson, and other members of Great Rift Writers.
The Great Rift Writers' website is a subset of the website of "PrueHeart the Wanderer," so don't be too confused if you end up on a PrueHeart page. Great Rift Writers is a non-profit organization, and we're saving money by using an existing website (no domain name registration fees, no additional hosting fees).
A reminder to everyone: It is time to pay dues for 2008. The dues are $25.00 per year. Leslie Ovard is acting as our treasurer for now, so please make checks payable to her. In the memo portion write "GRW MEMBERSHIP." You can bring cash or check to a GRW meeting, or mail payment to Lynna Howard at 441 Hummingbird Lane, Shelley, ID 83274 (Lynna's house is the GRW snail mail location). Prospective members can attend a couple of workshops first before deciding if they want to join or not. Great Rift Writers is a non-profit organization. May 8, 2008 May 22, 2008
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Put your thoughts on paper, partake of monthly workshops, and demonstrate that you won’t bleed to death under an assault of friendly criticism and you’re likely to become a Great Rift Writer. GRW Monthly Workshop Wednesday, June 25, 2008 Homework assignment for 06/25/2008: Seven Deadly Virtues Seven Saving Vices Try to avoid: Ideally, each person will write at least one Deadly Virtue and one Saving Vice poem, but do what is good for your own art. Go forth and write! Prose poems welcome. Squander time, and call it well-spent. Bring at least six copies of work you want to share. Depending on the number of writers at the workshop, we will have about 10 to 20 minutes per person. If you have longer poems or prose pieces you want to workshop, you should chose an excerpt to present to the group. Writers can bring longer works for members to take home, but don't expect the entire piece to be covered in one workshop. Please include your name, phone number, and email address on each piece. Future GRW Workshop Dates, 2008 All workshops are from 7:00 PM to 9 PM |
Lynna Howard in Idaho's White Cloud Mountains. Photo by Leland Howard