Program Possibility
October 16th, 2006On Saturday I had the curious experience of having two “somethings” in my book referred to, and before I got the chance to follow-up, the conversation had moved on — never to return. It seemed that this particular reader had found descriptions of two programs in my book that he thought were actually worth kicking around with the director at his senior center. I wish I knew to what he was referring. It’s just a tad maddening to have succeeded and not know at what!
I’m pretty sure that one of things is the coffeehouse concept. Teresa Grodsky (Senior Center Director at Park Ridge) and I have talked about it for years now. We just can’t seem to make it materialize but it’s a great idea.
It goes something like this. We have a painting class. We have a writing class. (We have lots of other classes that could factor in as well). The thought is that the painters could show off their work, and the writers could show off theirs at the same gathering.
I’m particularly fond of the idea ever since I discovered ekphrastic poetry. I would have liked to have seen the writers group write pieces (not necessarily poetry) using the painting groups’ work as a starting place. It’s not a question of describing the painting in prose, but literally using the painting as a jumping off point.
Is there a red barn in the painting? Then you can write about the color red, or how you feel about the color red, or about barns, or the animals that may live in the barn. The painting becomes a tickler of sorts, giving you nudges in a dozen different directions.
In my novel, PARK RIDGE, the two groups have surmounted the hurdles that we in real life haven’t been able to. So if, in fact, this is the program that the reader found worth pursuing, more power to him. Hope it does work. And if it does, I hope he lets me know how he pulled it off!
P.S.
If I figure out what the other idea was, I’ll pass that one on too.
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It is always a plus when you can build programming by using a current or previous activity to create a new one. More power to those who do.
Comment by LM ? November 2, 2006 @ 10:42 am
There are possible combinations of programs, too, that don’t often occur to people, including senior center directors, I imagine. For instance, when I heard that the Genealogy Group had had a speaker who talked about what to do when the research was complete, I was immediately sorry that my writing group hadn’t joined them for that session.
Another combination would be something craftsy and writing. A lot of scrapbooking could benefit from the addition of well-written commentary or poems or reflections.
Comment by Cheryl ? November 14, 2006 @ 1:45 pm