Welcome, New York Writers!

Led by Ben Henderson and using the work of Nancy Slonim Aronie, author of Writing from the Heart, we will use prompts Nancy has devised aimed at silencing the internal censor and letting our imaginations and memories wander freely. There will be no "constructive criticiism" for shared readings and others will only voice what moved them about the pieces, what they enjoyed about them, what piqued their curiosity, what feelings they brought up, and NOT how they think the piece could be improved. It is amazing when an atmosphere of such safety and generosity is created what writers will allow themselves to come up with. Writers reclaim their authentic voice, listen to what's really inside them and not what they think is "good" writing. Their own personal language and rhythms flow freely. For more information on Nancy's approach, check out her book, Writing from the Heart available on amazon.com, or her wesbite chilmarkwritingworkshop.com.

Nancy leads the Chilmark Writing Group on Martha's Vineyard and travels extensively. She will be in New York to do a one-day writing retreat at the Open Center on Sat, June 21, 2008. For more details, call the Open Center at 212-219-2527.