Saturday, November 22, 2008

Prose: Claiming the Prize


I watched the six women of the writing group step up and claim their prize, the recognition as writers in their community.

The book we had all contributed to lay on the table on top of a red tablecloth, emphasizing the red dahlias in the cover photo, the red shirts some of us had worn to the photo shoot, quite coincidentally, that my son did with us one warm, Saturday afternoon, the red trim around that cover shot, against a sea of sage green.

They were all sages now. During this Book Release Party, all of us took turns reading our pieces from the book, a few here, a few there. Pieces were about the South, the American Pelvis, A Kiss, Sex and Death, the metaphor of a supermarket aisle, a generational rug passing through women’s hands, a hand in Ireland making change and giving a lesson in respect, and peonies

As friends and family mingled, people from as eclectic a lifestyle as we all were to each other, these women greeted them, receiving warmth and congratulations and taking it in.

I had felt so gratified to be part of this women’s writing group, and now to be a witness to the success of their writing and watching them step into ‘the writer’ in themselves. I felt it was an honor to be there. Jyoti


1 comment:

A Week's Worth of Women said...

And, many kudos to you, Jyoti, for leading this group of women into themselves through writing.
Kappy