KEENE, N.H. – Award-winning author Pam Bernard announces the continuation of her popular, ongoing eight-week sessions, to begin the week of March 20, held at the Keene Library, in a cozy meeting room within the recently renovated wing. Now is a great time to join the supportive community you need to begin a writing project, and to establish the discipline and focus to finally get it off the ground.
“Some folks tell me they haven’t had an interesting life,” says Bernard, “and therefore have nothing to write about. Who would be interested? Others come to the table burdened with so many memories of past experiences they are paralyzed. These are opposite ends of the spectrum, but are the result of the same problem: how to honor the life you have lived, without judgment or sentimentality.” Bernard assures her participants that it is not what we’ve done, no matter how exciting or important, but what we make of those memories as we revisit them. After all, memoir is the unblinking exploration of the deeper threads and patterns of a lived life. And we get there by using memory—but also imagination. To artfully craft a narrative in which you explore who you are now as a result of who you were then is the goal. When factual truth gives way to emotional truth, story emerges, and story is the basis of memoir.
Patti Whalen, of Westminster, Vt., says: “Pam’s workshop is the highlight of my week. Pam leads each session with skill and warmth, bringing the process of memoir writing alive. As I began to write and to identify the deep themes, I realized I had a way to shape them into a story others could share. I could only have done this within the supportive and generous community of writers Pam creates.”
Pam Bernard, author of four books, is a poet, painter, editor, and writing mentor. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from Warren Wilson College and Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University. Her awards include fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and two Massachusetts Cultural Council fellowships. Her collection of poems Across the Dark was a finalist for the National Poetry Award.
For more information contact her by emailing pam@pambernard.com or pambernardwriter@gmail.com, calling 603-756-4177, or visit her website www.pambernard.com.