Suzanne Edison, MA, MFA

Poet • Educator

  • Suzanne Edison, MA, MFA
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February 15, 2020 By Suzanne

The Words To Say It: Writing & Reading Poems about Illness, Trauma, & Healing

Suzanne Edison portrait

I’ll be teaching a 2 day workshop in Port Townsend. Come join me at The Writers Workshoppe.

Dates: Saturday and Sunday, April 4th and 5th
Time: 10:00am to 3:00pm
Cost: $170
Limited to: 10 participants

“Story [or poetry] is both a primal, concrete way of ordering experience and also a way of opening the self to disorder. When lyric ceases to hide behind abstraction…and descend down into the chaos and specifics of the physical world to seek its meanings, it is another way that it has of making itself vulnerable to disorder.  …One of story’s primary purposes is to lay claim to experience. Autobiographical storytelling can take personal experience back from silence, shame, fear, or oblivion… By telling his or her story, the poet overcomes isolation and silence.” — Gregory Orr

​“The only way through pain…is to absorb, probe, understand exactly what it is and what it means. To close the door on pain is to miss the chance for growth…”- May Sarton

In this two day intensive workshop we will read and write poems about our experiences with illness, trauma and healing. These experiences are held in our bodies and we will engage in an initial centering exercise to help us focus. We will read poems with an eye and ear to understanding how emotions and experiences are captured and held in images, metaphors and narratives. I will provide you with prompts and structures for writing. There will be time to share and receive feedback on the second day of the workshop. You will come away with a better appreciation for how poetry can hold the often unspeakable and ineffable, and a couple of your own new drafts of poems or stories.  Some experience with poetry or writing is helpful but not required.

Filed Under: events, poetry, teaching, workshops Tagged With: healing, illness, poetry, writing

September 25, 2019 By Suzanne

Hope & Despair: After Thoughts from Town Hall reading of The Body Lives Its Undoing

After reading poems from “The Body Lives Its Undoing”, and presentations by collaborators at Town Hall on Wednesday, September 18th, I opened up the conversation to the audience. The questions were penetrating and while I did my best in the moment to respond, later that night I had further thoughts that I want to share.

Dramatic and beautiful volcanic eruption
Photo credit to Gronda Morin https://grondamorin.com

How to keep hopeful when struggling with an autoimmune disease

A difficult question was posed by someone living with an autoimmune disease; she asked how to deal with hope, specifically, how to keep up hope when one is in pain and seemingly closer to despair. At the time I answered by recalling my struggles with pain and despair as a parent of a child with an autoimmune disease who, when in the thick of her treatment I had no knowledge of whether she’d get better, I also despaired. I fell off “the Hope wagon” often. And I came to think this was going to be a wild roller coaster ride and the resulting stress might sicken me in some way too. 

[Read more…]

Filed Under: blog, brief thoughts Tagged With: despair, holding grief, hope, Lisa Spiderman, Pema Chodron, The Body Lives Its Undoing

July 6, 2019 By Suzanne

Reading & Conversation at Town Hall Seattle-Sept. 18, 2019

Save the Date–The Body Lives Its Undoing

Wednesday, September 18, 2019         7 pm

As part of Town Hall’s reopening, I’ll be reading from The Body Lives Its Undoing and conversing with visual artists and scientists who contributed to the book. We will all respond to questions from the audience as well.

Get your tickets now. I look forward to seeing you there.

Filed Under: events, readings Tagged With: illness, Poetry reading, visual art

April 2, 2019 By Suzanne

Writing Poems about Illness, Trauma & Healing–HOW TO

I plan to teach a 3rd session of my class The Words to Say It: Writing and Reading Poems about Illness, Trauma & Healing at Hugo House starting April 17, 2019.

I’ve taught this 6 week workshop before but thought I’d share one of the many approaches I use to start writing for those of you who may be interested in the class but wonder how it goes.

Writing Poems about Illness & Trauma-How To.

If you think this class interests you, you can register here.

Filed Under: Illness & Healing, poetry, teaching, workshops

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Events & Workshops

The Words To Say It: Reading and Writing Poems about Illness, Trauma, & Healing

In the Time of Virus–Part 2–Writing Workshop

Writing as a Righting Journey-San Francisco/Oakland–2020

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