Writing, Art and the Search for Beauty

For most of the Pocono calendar year, beauty is just shouting at you non-stop. Fall is a wall of color, the winter snows dazzle. Spring and summer....well, we all know what show-offs they can be. Right now, however, autumn has ended and the only thing jumping out of the landscape to catch your eye is the random sculpture made by some bear eating last week's trash.

This time of year you've got to look carefully for signs of natural artistry. Yesterday I was carrying my camera around because I want to take a photo of the single white duck that's taken up residence on a neighbor's pond. Although I walked over there a few times, she never glided near enough for a good close-up. The leafless trees looked forlorn and the grass was already brown in spots. Then just before 5 PM, I happened to go out again when the setting sun had transformed the sky into the work of art pictured above. Yes, it's here. Beauty has not abandoned us.

Writers Read in Jim Thorpe: Echoes of Souls

You can't turn around these days without running into a ghost walk or a haunted house. While ghouls are obviously big business (especially during a recession), the presence of departed souls is very real to me, especially at this time of year. It's not just the mist that rises along the river, or the way the wood smoke haunts the cool fall air. There is a mysterious energy that seeps into the shadowed places around us; it soothes more than it scares.

To celebrate this time when the spirits feel so close, Pennsyl Pointe is sponsoring "Echoes of Souls" a reading on Sunday, November 1st, at 2 PM at Artefino Gallery, 16 W. Broadway in Jim Thorpe. Five Pennsylvania writers will read work that explores the ways the dear departed continue to dance among the living. Works will include original fiction and poetry by writers from Pennsyl Pointe and the Liberties Scribblers group in Philadelphia.

To make the event a little more special we will also be making a community "ofrenda". This is a collaborative artwork that looks like an altar but is actually made up of objects that commemorate the lives of loved ones who've passed on. If you would like to have an object included for someone you've lost, please drop it off at Sellers Books and Fine Arts (101 Broadway) or Artefino Gallery and we will place it in the ofrenda. You can pick up your object after the reading.

Fall Foliage in Jim Thorpe; Writing in Penn's Woods

Well, it's happened. The trees decided to throw a party. Of course they had to put on their wildest colors before the rest of the guests arrived. In Albrightsville, where I live, the leaves are really stunning. Yesterday I stopped at a nearby lake to snap a few photos. The picture at the right sums up the season's beauty. It's a great time to write. I hope some of these trees are still dressed when we have our Journal Writing Workshop on October 27th-28th. (See www.poconowriters.com). People will delight in the experience of writing in the woods regardless of what happens to the foliage. But if the trees keep this up, no one will leave the workshop feeling uninspired.

This is also the first of the Fall Foliage weekends in Jim Thorpe. Although the leaves there really haven't changed colors yet, the town's full of free music, good food, and autumn revelry. Last night I finally went on the Ghost Walk to hear more stories about the spookier aspects of the town. I recommend it for the first-time visitor. Part of what makes the town so attractive is the strong sense that it has never been abandoned by the spirits of the past.

Journal Workshop in the Poconos

The trees can't come to an agreement. Some of them still think summer has a little life left in it. Today the weather is on their side. The sky is bluer than Paul Newman's eyes and the Rose of Sharon is still heavy with flowers. Opposing these optimistic plants, we have the elms which are shedding their red leaves at a dramatic pace. Although it's clear that fall is gaining the upper hand, the brave flowers above continue blooming. By the way, the color in that photo has not been enhanced.

All this variety makes autumn a great season for writing. The Pocono Mountains boast incredible beauty at this time of year. I'm hoping we'll still have some foliage and sunny days during our upcoming Journal Making Workshop at Graystones Preserve. We will be working with participants to help them make personalized journals they can use for their own creative projects. I'll be teaching with Randall Sellers and Debra Dick, two accomplished colleagues who have been making exceptional art for a long time. The dates of the workshop are October 27th and 28th. You can check our new website at www.poconowriters.com to get more information on the workshop and Graystones Preserve. Graystones is a spectacular 3800 acre nature preserve just outside Hickory Run State Park.

Upcoming Workshops at Graystone Preserve

Autumn is arriving with the determination summer lacked. Already the elms are shedding their leaves and the air has a crisp edge to it. My beloved frogs look like they're shivering whenever the sun turns its attention to some other corner of the pond. Fall usually inspires me but I feel like the summer passed too fast and I'm not ready for the cool weather.

To shake off the doldrums I've been working on plans for an October journal writing workshop I'll be offering with two other instructors at Graystone Preserve. Our intent is to offer a 1.5 day creative experience that teaches participants how to make a beautiful personal journal complete with calligraphy, sketching, and high quality writing. My fellow instructors are Debra Dick and Randall Sellers, both talented artists in their own fields. I'm excited about the prospect of teaching this workshop in the gorgeous environment of Graystone, a 3800 acre preserve adjacent to Hickory Run State Park. The place is filled with wildlife and spectacular scenery. The truth is, it will be a treat to be there even if autumn is coming along too.

Creative Celebration in the Poconos

It's been an incredibly busy summer and I can't believe September is already here. August flew by like a hungry raven. Once the sun came out, there was not much time for writing. I spent much of the month trying to spruce up the pool area at Pennsyl Pointe. For a long time, it had been a neglected part of the property so I decided to do some painting and planting to restore it's value as a social gathering spot.

To help speed the process, I threw a party one glorious summer Sunday. Guests included friends, neighbors, and family members. We had live music (by Raffi and Zion), great food (made by many exceptional cooks), and carried out a group creative project. Using a stack of ancient windows that had been left here by the former owner of the place, we gave everyone the opportunity to make a painting for our poolside "gallery". Painters ranged in age from six to seventy years old. A few days later we also hosted some visiting "artists" from Toronto who added more works to the collection. This was so much fun I think we may repeat it at a future date. You can see a few samples above. That party was unforgettable thanks to the contributions of all our participating artists.

Summer Creative Groove: Bob Dylan in Allentown

Now that the weather has improved, writing indoors has lost some of its charm. Pennsyl Pointe has about 3.5 acres of grass that needs regular mowing. It's also surrounded by tree-lined roads that make you want to walk until your toes give up. In fact, it's so beautiful here that it's hard to leave Carbon County at all. Coffee on the porch is my idea of an inspirational journey.

However, I did make an exception last week to spend an evening in Allentown with Bob Dylan, John Mellencamp, Willie Nelson -- and 10,696 other people. Stadium concerts never appealed to me much but this one was great. The three craggy legends all played in Coca Cola Park, a pretty nice minor league baseball stadium. The crowd ranged from adorable three year olds to aging rock fans who looked like they'd keep clapping as long as they could stay awake.

We met great people. We sang along with some songs: "I fight authority, authority always wins!" It's tough to sing along with Dylan since he isn't very melodic. Plus he sings his songs any way he wants -- deliberately screwing with your radio memories. It's like listening to someone do a cover of his music. For the faithful he sang "Like a Rolling Stone" and "All Along the Watchtower". He also did a lot of tunes from recent albums like "Love and Theft". I had a great time that night. Once we got back in the car, I fell asleep like the old chunk of granite I seem to have become.