2008 Power of Words Conference

 The 2008 conference was held Sept. 11-15 at Goddard College, bringing together close to 110 people for an indepth exploration of TLA in their lives and world. Keynote presenters included:

• Julia Alvarez, author of many books, including In the Time of the Butterflies, Saving the World, and How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accent.

• Kelley Hunt, award-winning rhythm and blues singer-songwriter, who has performed around the world, released four critically-acclaimed CDs, and who, according to one participant, "has a Ph.D. in boogie-woogie."

• Rick Jarow, founder of the anti-career movement and author of Creating the Work You Love.

• Bread and Puppet Theatre, doing social change, grass-roots theatre style.

• Barbara Bethea, aka the Afrikanna Madonna, performing her gospel soul spoken word and song.

• Sherry Reiter, poetry therapy pioneer and drama therapist.

• Lewis Mehl-Madrona, author of Coyote Medicine, Narrative Medicine and Coyote Healing.

• Janet Aalfs, martial artist and poet.

• Facilitators-in-residence Kristina and Callid Keefe-Perry.

• Artist-in-residence Cynthia Ross.

The conference began with a pre-pre-conference workshop, "The Unfolding Path: Making the Work You Love Come True," an all-day workshop led by Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg and Kelley Hunt.  Pre- and post-conference workshops included "Creating the Work You Love" with Rick Jarow, "The Power of the Trickster" with Lewis Mehl-Madrona, "Poetry Therapy Medicine: Ten Prescriptions That Could Change Your Life" with Sherry Reiter, and "Canastoria: The Original Form of Street Theatre from Ancient Times to Today," with Bread and Puppet, a workshop that led into a rollicking performance during the opening night of the conference.  Other opening night dazzlers were Janet Aalfs, performing martial arts poetry which left us all breathless, a talk on "Paying it Forward in TLA" by Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg, a song by Kelley Hunt, an artist talk by Cynthia Ross, and an introduction of holding the space by Kristina and Callid Keefe-Perry.

Among the highlights of the conference was the closing evening events: a spectacular open mic that included over 25 people performing poetry, stories, song, rap, chants and more followed by a closing ceremony led by Kristina and Callid Keefe-Perry that brought us all outside in a large circle in the moonlight where we sat in silence, and spoken — when any of us felt so called — of what moved us during the conference.  The circle culminated in a dance led by Evi Torton Beck.

Workshops were varied and plentiful, including:

• "But I Used to Live in a Different Place": Fostering Empathy in Children Through Animal Stories — Alexa Mergen.

• Finding "Write" Livelihood: Strategies on the Path Toward a Joyful and Sustaining Writing Life — Valerie Harris

• Becoming the Warrior Poet: Transforming Fear into Courage — Jill Jepson

• Writing the Shadows: An Illuminated Exploration of Archetypal Images — Scott Youmans

• Declaring Our Erotic: Transformative Writing About Sexuality — Jen Cross

• The Goddess of Speech and Resonate Word — Rick Jarow

• Community Radio and Television: Resources for Transformative Language Arts — Mary Rothschild and Cara Lisa Powers

• "All My Life's A Circle: Integrating Life's Journey Through Poetry, Song and Dance — Evelyn Torton Beck

• Writing from the Roots: Exploring Cultural Identity — Marianela Medrano-Marra

• Witnessing Ourselves: Writing Our Owned, Disowned and Transcendent Voices — Reggie Marra

• True Stories: Finding Freedom at the Intersections of Personal and Cultural Myths — Stephanie Wade

• Life Manna for the Soul: A Survivor's Journey Through Domestic Violence — Barbara Bethea

• Dramatic Structure as Work and Life: Create a Happy Ending — Letitia Sweitze

• Adi Song of Agan: Working with the Long, Poetic "Other" — Regina Ress

• Return to the Source: Breath, Gesture, Word — Janet Aalfs

• Opening World with Word: Theopoetics and Imaginging the Divine — Callid and Kristina Keefe-Perry