AWA Newsletter: January 2019

January is ebbing fast, and I can’t say I’m sorry. I’m trying to gaze past our human turmoil, across the short, but bleak, weeks of February, to the light of spring.

The strengthening AWA community is a bright spot here and on the horizon, and your board and staff are well into preparation and planning for 2019 and beyond. Maureen, as training director, and Katie, as managing director, are, as always, our bedrock. Board officers for 2019–2020, elected in December 2018, are me (Lane Goddard) as chair; Sue Reynolds as vice-chair and treasurer, and Vicki Pinkerton as secretary.

AWA News: Retreat Report

Update: We are hosting another retreat in 2019! Please join us in Las Vegas, NV from October 4–7. Sue Reynolds, organizer of AWA’s Professional Development and Writing Retreat in Albuquerque, NM from October 12 – 15, 2018, shares her reflection on the event: We lodged at the beautiful Bosque Retreat Center in the river valley that runs…

July 2018: Hold Fast to Dreams

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Letter from Kate Hymes; Regional News; Training News; Affiliate News; Founder’s Message; Affiliate Classifieds. July 2018 “Hold fast to dreams…” —Langston Hughes, Dreams Dear AWA friends, At present, academia has a stranglehold on what is American literature. Too few writers rise up from community writing groups to have their work honored and…

June 2018: Full Bloom

  INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Letter from Kathleen Olesky; Professional Development and Writing Retreat; Training News; Regional News; Founder’s Message; Affiliate Classifieds. June 2018 Dear AWA community,  The pink rhododendron outside the Walker Center is in full bloom. The blue jays chase the sparrows off the bird feeder. The chipmunks catch the fallen seeds. Maureen and…

May 2018: Thank you, Jhazalyn!

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Letter from Jhazalyn Prince; Professional Development and Writing Retreat; Training News; Affiliate Classifieds. Dear AWA community,   My first year when I was looking for a work-study job, I wanted to find something that would relate to my studies and prepare me for work outside of college. It seems cliché to say that I…

African woman listening

April 2018: Important Questions

  INSIDE THIS NEWSLETTER Letter from Sue Reynolds,  Professional Development and Writing Retreat, Training News, Regional News, Founder’s Message, Affiliate Classifieds April 2018 “We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us something is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust… Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder,…