Subscribe to 'Stories from the Heart II' e-letter
Program
Open Mike
Story Wall / Scrapbook / Heart-to-Heart Table
Brochure (download)
Program
| Friday, February 6 | |
|---|---|
| 12pm | Registration opens |
| 1:30-3:30pm | Pre-Conference Panel Discussion |
| 4-5pm | Conference Welcome session: Susan Wittig Albert |
| 5:30-7:30pm | Dutch-treat dinner, Red Lion Hotel restaurant |
| 7:30pm | Keynote Speech: Laughing Along with Life, Liz Carpenter
(Dessert reception following; included in registration fee) |
| Saturday, February 7 | |
| 8:30am | Registration opens.
Hospitality Suite open (check registration desk for times) |
| 9-10:30am | Session 1 |
| 10:30-10:45am | ***Coffee/Tea Break*** |
| 10:45am-12:15pm | Session 2 |
| 12:15-2:15pm | Lunch (included in registration fee)
Actresses Ann Edwards, Adrienne Harrell, and Nancy Groblewski from Paradox Players will read stories from With Courage and Common Sense |
| 2:15-3:45pm | Session 3 |
| 3:45-4pm | ***Drinks & light refreshments*** |
| 4-5:30pm | Session 4 |
| 6-8pm | Dutch-treat dinner, Red Lion Hotel restaurant and other nearby restaurants
We will have several "Special Interest" tables, including: OWL-Circle, hosted by Pat Flathouse; "Saturday Night Live with the Internet Gang", hosted by tba; etc. |
| 8-10pm | After-dinner Open Mike: Storytelling from the Heart, Donna Remmert, Mistress of Revels |
| Sunday, February 10 | |
| 7:45-8:45am | The President's Breakfast, hosted by Judith Helburn, for reading/writing facilitators, members of the board, presenters at the conference, and other invited guests, in the Hospitality Suite |
| 9-10:30am | Session 5 |
| 10:30-10:45am | ***Coffee/Tea Break*** |
| 10:45am-12:15pm | Session 6 |
| 12:15-2pm | Lunch (included in registration fee)
Speaker: Minding Our Ps and Qs, Wilhelmina Delco |
Major Speakers
;) |
Liz Carpenter, our Friday-night keynote speaker, is a sixth generation Texan, a writer, and a journalist who reported on Presidents from Franklin D. Roosevelt to John F. Kennedy for 18 years. She traveled on LBJ's foreign missions as a press spokesman, and was in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963 at the time of the assassination. She drafted the 58 words that LBJ used on his return to Washington. In the White House, she was press secretary and staff director to First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson, and also contributed to the speeches of the President particularly in the field of humor by creating a White House Humor Group. In 1969, when the Johnson Administration ended, she wrote "Ruffles and "Flourishes," her account of her White House experiences.
She was a vice president of Hill and Knowlton in Washington after leaving the White House. In 1971, she was one of the founders of the National Women's Political Caucus and co-chair of ERAmerica, traveling the country to push for passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. She was named by Governor Mark White to the Texas Women's Hall of Fame. She joined Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson as the first woman executive assistant to the vice-president, and later became the first professional newswoman to be press secretary to a first lady for Lady Bird Johnson. She was appointed by President Gerald Ford to the International Women's Year Commission, by President Jimmy Carter to serve as Assistant Secretary of Education for Public Affairs, and by President Bill Clinton to serve on the White House Conference on Aging.
She returned to Texas in 1976, where she has written several books: Start With a Laugh (2001), Unplanned Parenthood (1994), Getting Better All the Time (1986), and Ruffles and Flourishes (1970).
|
;) |
Wilhelmina Ruth Fitzgerald Delco, our Sunday lunch speaker, has devoted more than three decades to public service. In 1968, Delco was elected to the Austin Independent School District Board of Trustees, as the first African American elected to public office in Austin. Delco later served ten terms in the Texas Legislature and served on more than 20 different committees. In 1991, she became the first woman appointed Speaker Pro Tempore.
Throughout Delco's legislative career, she was appointed, served in leadership capacities, and received top honors from nearly every national education board in the country. Delco's consistent dedication to education gained her a national reputation in the field of higher education.
Delco retired from the Texas Legislature in 1995, but has remained an active force in higher education. She chairs the national boards of The United States Department of Education's National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity and the Compact for Faculty Diversity. Delco is also an adjunct professor at the University of Texas at Austin.
|
;) |
Dr. Susan Wittig Albert, our Friday afternoon Conference Welcome session speaker, is a former English professor and university dean and vice-president. The recipient of many teaching awards and fellowships, she is the author of numerous books for young adults and the best-selling author of two mystery series. She is also the author of Work of Her Own and Writing From Life: Telling Your Soul's Story. In 1997, she founded the Story Circle Network. |
Preliminary Program
Friday Afternoon Pre-Conference Panel Discussion
1:30-3:30pm
(This event is free and open to the public. There is no need to pre-register.)
Main ballroom:
So You Want to Publish Your Own Story!
This panel discussion of the pros and cons of self-publishing will be presented by Story Circle members who have self-published their own book(s):
- Jan Seale (Chair: author of the self-published A Nuts & Bolts Guide to Writing; a freelance writer, poet and teacher who has published at least six books and had her work published in numerous magazines, literary publications, etc.)
- Linda Myers, author of Becoming Whole: Writing Your Healing Story
- EJ Phillips, author of Woman: What She Has Done With Where She Has Been
- Donna Remmert, author of Littlest Big Kid and Jitterbug Girl
- Patti Pfeiffer, author of Bearing the Big H
- Finding Your Voice:
-
Salon A:
The Heart's Gift:
Jodi Davis, Minneapolis MN - Life offers us gifts through our experience. We'll write about a life experience (happy, sad, challenging) using "The Gift Philosophy." What gifts did we receive from this experience? How can we tell someone else about these gifts? How can we use these gifts to reframe difficult experiences?
- Magical Methods of Storytelling:
-
Salon B:
Handmade Books to Tell Your Story:
Beck Whitehead, San Antonio TX -
A "Make and Take" workshop
Tell your story or keep your journal in a wonderful book you've made yourself. In this hands-on session,you'll learn how to make a simple book with a slip-on cover and explore ideas for similar books.
NOTE: This session will be limited to 20 participants. Also note that there is a $5 fee for this workshop, to cover the cost of materials/supplies. You will be able to sign up & pay the fee at the Registration Table.
- Serious Stuff:
-
Salon C:
The Healing Power of Journaling:
Kathleen Baker, Tampa FL - Writing can clarify and heal. Using a "structured method" of journaling and guided writing exercises, we will discover ways in which lifewriting can help us explore life's challenges (chronic illness/pain, the loss of a loved one), as well as encourage us to acknowledge our own creativity, spirituality, and values.
- Stories in Many Voices:
-
Salon H:
Voices from the Natural World:
Susan Hanson, San Marcos TX; Susan Wittig Albert, Bertram TX - Our lives are lived within the context of natural landscapes. In this workshop, we will use the techniques of lifewriting to explore the world around us. We'll also find out how to contribute our nature writing to SCN's new memoir collection: Women Write About the Southwest.
-
Salon F/G:
Dream Wisdom for Life-Writing:
Donna Remmert, Austin, TX - Dream wisdom is available in profound ways once a person understands the dream stories she creates nightly. Learn techniques for remembering and recording dreams, the significance of recurring dream themes, interpretation of dream imagery and how dreams can add depth and meaning to one's life.
- Finding Your Voice:
-
Salon A:
Writing as Spiritual Practice:
Lana Landaverde, Daly City CA - Centering exercises help us hear the still, small voice of the Spirit within. We will explore ways in which daily writing enables us to tap the wisdom lying just beneath the surface of our experience.
- Serious Stuff:
-
Salon C:
Writing Women's Biography:
PJ Pierce, Austin TX - For women who want to tell other women's stories. We will review the basics of biography, including techniques for interviewing your subject and writing the story for publication. Also includes tips for querying a publisher.
- Stories in Many Voices:
-
Salon H:
From 'Ba-Ba' to Back Talk: 7 Tips for Sounding Like a Kid Again:
Melanie Alberts, Austin TX - A child's voice can add vitality to your story telling. Through writing exercises, examples and discussion, learn seven ways to sound credible at any age.
- Panel Discussions:
- Finding Your Voice:
-
Salon A:
Favorite Things:
Catherine Cogburn, Austin TX - Discover what you have to say about your favorite things, and what they have to say about you. Add vividness and clarity to your writing while deepening self-understanding.
-
Salon H:
Writing Our Way Through:
Carolyn Blankenship, Austin, TX - Using journal writing to explore and process life's difficulties, problems and challenges. Learn techniques for self-exploration and healing.
- Magical Methods of Storytelling:
-
Salon B:
When you Shake the Family Tree:
Sherryl Rogers, Austin TX - In searching our roots, we sometimes discover information that shakes the foundation of the family tree. Learn how to move yourself beyond the pain of discovery to achieve wholeness.
- Serious Stuff:
-
Salon C:
Becoming Whole: Writing Stories to Heal the Self, Soul, and Family:
Linda Myers, Richmond CA - In this workshop, we will weave together three levels of life story—past, present and future, an exercise based on research into the healing power of writing. Writing about the layers of self through time offers us an opportunity to explore our identities and to see our whole selves and our families in a healing context.
- Stories in Many Voices:
-
Salon F/G:
Truth Be Told: Stories of Women in Prison:
Nathalie Sorrell, Austin TX; Carol Waid, Manchaca TX; Suzanne Armistead, Austin TX - Learn about the program the presenters have developed for a women's correctional facility. Using writing, speaking and movement--and the stories of workshop participants--Truth Be Told partners will demonstrate how they use story telling in their Talk To Me classes with women in prison.
- Finding Your Voice:
-
Salon A:
You Can't Go Over It; You Can't Go Under It; You Have to Go Through It!:
Frances Reynolds, Columbia MO - In this experiential workshop, we'll use children's literature and songs as provocative prompts that help unlock memories and write about significant events in our lives. You'll be surprised by what you can learn about yourself from the Itsy-Bitsy Spider!
- Magical Methods of Storytelling:
-
Salon B:
Quilting Your Legacy:
Janie York, Ithaca NE -
A "Take-Away" Session (materials for making your own)
For centuries, women have told their stories in quilts. Learn how you can incorporate photographs and text into a simple quilt that will help you tell your story, or the story of your family, church, or community organization.
- Stories in Many Voices:
-
Salon H:
A Priceless Legacy: Writing Your Family History:
Pat Flathouse, Austin TX - We don't know who we are, fully, until we've learned as much as we can about our families. In this workshop, we'll explore the rich, multi-layered legacy of our family stories, learn how to construct a family tree, then write several short family stories based on the tree.
- Panel Discussions:
-
Salon F/G:
The Power of Story: Using our Experience to Change Hearts and Lives
-
Discussion of how we can use our personal experience to help educate others and change the way they think, feel and act about a particular subject.
- Nancy Rigg (Chair: After losing her fiancé in a tragic drowning accident, Nancy now works to promote swift-water rescue. Writing e-circle facilitator)
- Billie Davis
- Jodi Davis
- Anna Jaworski
- Sharon Wildwind
- Finding Your Voice:
-
Salon A:
Your Life is Your Art! You Are the Artist:
Jeanne Ware, Austin TX - What if you thought of yourself as an artist and the life you've created as a work-in-progress? Explore your personal journey, discover and identify your Self through the tools of "artist's dates" and journaling.
- Magical Methods of Storytelling:
-
Salon B:
Presenting Your Story Creatively:
Suzanne Zoch, Ruidoso NM - Stories deserve to be shared. In this workshop, learn how to use the art of collage to tell your story, and to present it theatrically and in an audio-book.
- Stories in Many Voices:
-
Salon F/G:
Mothers/Daughters: Connecting Through Our Stories:
Tina Dubin, Austin TX - Participants will explore, via prompts, the family messages contained in mother-daughter stories, and consider the multi-generational perspectives of the mothers and daughters on the panel.
- Serious Stuff:
-
Salon C:
How to Be Your Own Editor:
Jane Ross, Austin TX - Find out what an editor does to turn a manuscript into a polished work. Learn to improve your own writing using professional editing techniques.
- Finding Your Voice:
-
Salon A:
Journaling a Fragmented Life:
Sharon Wildwind, Calgary AB CANADA - How do you fit journaling into a very busy life? Making time for journaling starts by looking at our values and identifying the road blocks we set up and allow other people to set up. Learn how you can custom-fit your lifewriting into your days and weeks.
- Serious Stuff:
-
Salon C:
Telling Our Stories Through Light-hearted Poems:
Jan Seale, McAllen TX - Sharing humorous poems about our lives gives us added pleasure and a secret defense as we nourish ourselves and our friends with poetry. In this session, we'll take a look at the benefits of writing humorous autobiographical poems, study some classic examples of funny poems by women, and get quick tips to apply right away to our own humorous writing.
- Stories in Many Voices:
-
Salon H:
Listening Others into Story:
Mary Jane Nordgren, Forest Grove OR - Sometimes the most important thing we can do for another woman is to help her tell her story. By interviewing each other, we'll learn how to hear and tell another woman's story. Like most other "woman's work," this requires us to wear many hats: Midwife, Guardian, Recorder, Listener, Narrator, and sometimes, Sacrificial Parent.
- Panel Discussions:
Story-Telling From the Heart: Open Mike
Saturday Night, Live,
in Austin Texas
It's Saturday night in Austin TX—what would you like to do after you’ve enjoyed a fine dinner at one of Austin's many great restaurants? Well, you might take in a film, or visit Austin's disco district (the River City is widely known as the Live Music Capital of the World).
Or we could all hang out together and swap stories.
Swap stories?
Hey, what a great idea! After all, isn’t that what Story Circle is all about? And who has more stories to swap than women—women who have loved and laughed and cried and succeeded and failed and survived and, yes, triumphed! Creative, canny, crafty, clever, courageous women. Women who have lived ordinary, extraordinary, and sometimes downright outrageous lives!
So for Saturday night’s entertainment, we offer you—ta da! (a flourish of trumpets and rattle of drums, please)—an open mike!
And all you have to bring is you, and your story. Maybe it's a piece you've already shared with your Story Circle, or a poem or two that you've just finished, or a short autobiographical fiction piece. Maybe it's a story to be sung, or danced (if you need music, let us know ahead of time). Or perhaps you'd like to bring a piece of art that you've made—pottery, painting, textile, whatever—and tell us how and why it is part of your story. The sky's the limit, gals, and the only thing we have to fear (as some famous man said once) is fear itself. So let's see how many different stories, and how many different ways to tell a story, we can all come up with.
To give each story-teller a chance to participate, we'll divide up into as many as 9 groups - each in a separate meeting room. We ask you to limit your turn at the mike to five minutes. And in order to help our Mistress of Revels, Donna Remmert, to do a good job, we'll also ask you to sign up for a turn at the mike when you pick up your registration materials. Please sign up before 6 p.m. on Saturday. And please bring a copy of your piece to post on the Story Wall (see www.storycircle.org/Conference/storywallbook.shtml) -- and plan to email it to us, as well, for sharing with the attendees!
Remember that wonderful '60s song that began "When you come to San Francisco, be sure and wear flowers in your hair"?
When you come to Austin, Texas, be sure to bring a story from your heart. We're eager to hear it, y'all!
Last updated: 02/03/04 at 19:05