Greetings!
"Honesty will never break you."
~ Kate Hudson
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July 7th is National Tell the Truth Day, which is a significant day to me as a memoirist. When teaching and writing memoir, I always advocate to write your emotional truth. This means writing about experiences as you remember them, and it originates from your heart. Writing your emotional truth also includes the feelings behind your experience and story as you look back. Even when reflecting on an experience shared with someone else, it's important to remember that we all have our own personal truths about events in our lives.
Reflecting back on the month of June, I must say that for me, it was a powerful literary month. It began with a visit to my hometown from Lee Herrick, California's Poet Laureate. I thoroughly enjoyed his reading and the poignant stories he shares through his poetry. Needless to say, he has many stories about being orphaned as a young boy in Korea and being adopted by an esteemed California family where education was a priority. Lee said that he wrote more than 1,000 poems to his first (birth) mother in the hopes that she would read them and connect with him. Many of us live in hope, but I imagine how healing it must have been for him to write these poems. Herrick's warm, authenticity and love permeated his reading. I have reviewed his latest poetry collection below.
In the later part of June, I taught a memoir-writing workshop at the Santa Barbara Writers Conference. It was the 50th anniversary of the conference, and first time we were back in person since 2019. Attendance was excellent and the students were of stellar quality. Its success has inspired me to offer a one-day memoir retreat in July. (More information below.)
As much as possible, I try to make my writing timely, and during the month of June, I honored fathers and wrote a number of articles honoring them and/or male role models. I was blessed to have a wonderful father, and my article, "What My Father Taught Me," shares why. Now off I go to see what I shall write about during the month of July, maybe more about 'truth!'
Wishing everyone a happy July!
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- Write about your favorite summer holiday.
- Write about your plans for this summer.
- Write a poem to your younger self.
- Write about something that's difficult to be truthful about.
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July 22nd OR July 29th, 2023
9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Limited to 10 participants
Santa Barbara, CA
For more information, email:
assistant@dianaraab.com
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August 4, 2023
10:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
“Write. Heal. Transform.”
Summerland, CA
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September 19 – 23, 2023
“Writing for Bliss: What’s Your Story?”
Miraval Resorts and Spas
Authentic Circle Appreciation Week
Austin, Texas
For more information click here
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This luminous book of poetry was crafted by the current Poet Laureate of California, the first Asian-American to hold the title. When reading a book of poetry, I often flip through and read random poems; however, something compelled me to read this book from cover to cover. It might have something to do with Herrick's recent visit to California.
The subjects of Herrick's poems are diverse, touching on life, death, loss, politics, and family. Many of his poems referenced his first mother, and he brings such beautiful rhythm and music to his words. For example, in his poem, "How Music Stays in the Body," he writes, "Your body is a song called birth/or first mother, a miracle that gave birth/to another exquisite song."
He's a poet who can bring light to the darkness, which is not a surprise since his birth name in Korean means 'bright light.' When reading his poems one cannot help but ponder the elements of the human condition. For me, the best sign of a good poet is one who inspires the poet-reader to craft their own poems, and Herrick does this so gracefully.
Highly recommended!
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Top-selling course!
Write. Heal. Transform:
A Magical Memoir-Writing Course
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An exclusive course!
Therapeutic Writing
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