Poetry and the Genuine: Now I Become Myself
Amira, Eva, Kathleen & Michael Glaser
There is an elusive spark that resides within each of us. It has a host of psychological, philosophical and spiritual names. May Sarton has referred to it as that place where the poem “grows in me to become the song.” And Marianne Moore suggests it is a pathway for the poem to become “a place for the genuine.”
Experientially we often refer to this place as offering a feeling of being “centered” or “whole.” When we are not connected to it, we often say, “I am out of whack,” “off-balance” or “pulled in too many directions at once.”
Using a variety of techniques taken from Writing Seminars, Circle of Trust groups, the Alexander Technique, and Dance/Movement Therapy, this retreat will provide tools for each of us to better understand how and when we move between being “centered” and “off center.” Additionally we hope to show how recognizing our present-moment experience can serve us in discovering our genuine voice and expression as we write our poems and share our stories.
The four of us have found that the work we each do is powerfully connected and that our various approaches toward discovering our whole selves can lead to a more easeful and genuine expression of both our authentic person and our unique writing voice.
We’re excited about the possibilities and interconnections this retreat offers, and hope you will be with us.
Amira Glaser is a Licensed Acupuncturist and Chinese medicine practitioner as well as an AmSAT Certified Alexander Technique teacher and Art of Breathing instructor. Her practice centers around combining these Eastern & Western understandings of health, balance, and the power of non-doing, and draws on their transformative teachings for each individual’s unique needs and innate healing capacity. For more about her practice please visit: www.welcomewellbeing.com
Eva Glaser is a licensed Creative Arts Therapist in the state of New York. She holds an MA in Dance/Movement Therapy and Counseling and is currently working with preschool children and their families to provide trauma focused Child-Parent Psychotherapy in underserved communities in New York City. She’s interested in helping individuals to discover their unique experience of the body/mind relationship and deepening that understanding through movement explorations.
Kathleen W. Glaser is a Center for Courage and Renewal facilitator who values using poetry to help facilitate reflection. A recipient of the Washington Post Distinguished Educational Leadership Award, she is a co-founder of the Chesapeake Public Charter School in southern Maryland. Her passion is creating trustworthy spaces for learning and community. More at: www.couragerenewal.org/
Michael S. Glaser is a Professor Emeritus at St. Mary’s College of Maryland where he received the Dodge Endowed Award for Excellence in Teaching. He has edited three anthologies of poetry, published seven volumes his own work and served as Poet Laureate of Maryland from 2004 through 2009. Most recently, he co-edited the Complete Poems of Lucille Clifton. More at www.michaelsglaser.com
Cost $445 includes double occupancy room, board and tuition.