Comadres will publish their voices in October
Wednesday, 07 September 2011 23:05
A Tucson group for women writers will be publishing their second anthology in October after nine years of writing, critiquing and collecting.
The 400-page book, “Our Spirit, Our Reality,” is a non-fiction collection of essays, poems and memoirs written by members of Sowing the Seeds, a group that helps amateur writers to improve their work. The pieces cover themes like community, family, food, friends and love. The book will be available for purchase through Amazon, Barnes and Noble and from Sowing the Seeds members.
Sowing the Seeds was founded in 2000 by a few local educators and authors with help from the Southwest Institute for Research on Women (SIROW). The group has about 30 members who meet once a month to write, share their work and get advice. Originally started as an organization for Chicana/Latina women, founders now describe the group as “multicultural.” The group is funded through members' dues and book sale revenues.
Elena Díaz Björkquist, a published author, and one of the group’s founders, said that one of the main goals is to make the women’s writing “come to life.”
“Most of these women are college educated, but to translate that in to creative writing is a different thing," Björkquist said.
Each meeting starts with a free write. The women, who call each other comadres, are given a prompt to base their writing on - for example, the death of a loved one - and go from there. After the free write is finished, the women share what they have written with the group.
"You feel as though their criticism comes from their hearts and they want the best for you," said Kaitlin Meadows, a hospice nurse and published writer who has been a member of Sowing the Seeds for five years. Several of her pieces will be published in the anthology.
The group also hosts guest speakers who give workshops on writing improvement strategies. Björkquist, a retired professor of Chicano studies, has given talks on the importance of revision.
Their first anthology, “Sowing the Seeds,” was published in 2002 and focused on stories of the women’s mothers, family, friends, as well as pieces written for children and young adults. The next collection will contain works of fiction, Björkquist said.
An organization like Sowing the Seeds is important because many of the women do not have other opportunities to share their work, she said.
“These women are sending out stories that would not normally have been sent out,” she said.
In addition to the chance to be published, the women are also able to receive critiques from the group and advice on how to improve their writing skills.
“It’s a craft. And it’s a craft that you have to keep polishing,” she said. “All of our ladies now, all of our comadres, are writers.”
Written by Madelaine Archie You are reading Comadres will publish their voices in October articles
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