Suzanne Edison, MA, MFA

Poet • Educator

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Writing Workshop for Parents of Kids Living with a Chronic Illness

For any parents of kids living with a chronic illness, I’m teaching a 3 series writing workshop via zoom, beginning this month. See following for details.
• Managing trauma, stress and grief
• Building resilience
• Finding hope and gratitude
Through these workshops participants will:
• Explore
• Engage
• Creatively replenish themselves
• Find peer support
Expressive writing workshop UCSF Chronic Illness Center is partnering with Suzanne Edison, a writer, a parent, and a former psychotherapist to offer 3 virtual expressive writing workshops. When: Saturdays from 10:00am-12:00pm, February 26th, March 26th, and April 23rd How it works: You will have the opportunity to explore different aspects of your experiences with your child’s medical journey. Each workshop will involve reading selections in poetry and brief prose, writing prompts and homework offerings. Who can come: Parents/caregivers of children living with chronic conditions https://redcap.link/cicwriting Questions Contact us anytime: Bh*************@**sf.edu 
Testimonials:

“The workshop was so well designed and facilitated. I LOVED and benefited greatly [from] the variety of activities – the mindfulness and body scans, the writing prompts and sharing, the poems, and the reflections. Suzanne, your warmth and experience and organization are so appreciated.”

“It was great to share what we had bottled inside- and see it transformed into an art form.”

“I liked the poetry and how relatable it is.  Suzanne always does a great job.”

“…thank the host, she did an amazing job.  It was such a healing class.”

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In the Time of Virus–Part 2–Writing Workshop

I know we are all feeling anxious and uncertain. Unknowns are hard to deal with. In spite of this many people are still making art; some of it related to the Coronavirus.

I am still going to teach The Words to Say It: Writing & Reading about Illness, Trauma and Healing workshop through The Writers Workshoppe in Port Townsend but it will be done virtually through Zoom. There are still spaces available.

Stay safe, stay home, find your own creative expressions and enjoy some down time.

Suzanne

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

Saturday, April 18th  and Sunday, April 19th, 2020

9 am – 1 pm ( each day )

Workshops are free.

  • I’ll be teaching 3-4 writing workshops over the coming year in both San Francisco and Oakland for parents of kids (young children, teens, or young adults) living with a chronic illness. These 4 hour workshops are sponsored by The Chronic Illness Center at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital.
  • For information about locations, please contact me @ su************@****jm.org and I’ll be happy to correspond with you. Or contact the CIC directly.
  • For information about the format of the workshop, go here.

Thank you, Suzanne

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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.