Some of you may know, from my previous writing, or from being in class with me, that I had an identical twin sister who died when I was a day old. I’ve grieved Vicki all my life and have always had a deep fascination with twins. Last year at the conference in San Miguel, I met a woman who’s almost as […]
The Virtual Vacation Mexico: Lost Twin Read More »
One of my favorite things about this year’s San Miguel Writer’s Conference is that my co-author from The Courage to Heal, Ellen Bass, is here teaching poetry and giving a keynote speech. I had the honor of introducing her and preparing my remarks took me on a long trip down memory lane. My introduction was
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Since the San Miguel Writer’s Conference is a tri-cultural festival, the conference features evening keynotes from authors from the US, Mexico and Canada. This year’s Canadian author was Yann Martel, best known for his bestselling novel, The Life of Pi. The conference brochure described Yann’s talk as follows: “At a time when the arts are
The Virtual Vacation Mexico: The Loneliest Book Club in the World Read More »
A small snippet from David Whyte’s keynote address about why readers need to live a courageous life: “Writer’s block has to do with the attempt to keep a conversation going long beyond its shelf life.” As an antidote, David suggested the discipline of asking ourselves “beautiful questions,” questions that enable us to have a conversation
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The most fun thing about coming to a writer’s conference is not what happens in the officially scheduled sessions, but what happens in the cracks between sessions. There’s the fun of exploring San Miguel, but there’s also the conversations, connections and adventures that happen with fellow participants over meals, while getting lost, while shopping, or
The Virtual Vacation Mexico: Between The Cracks Read More »
The San Miguel Writer’s conference, in its ninth year, attracts writers from all over Mexico, the United States, Canada, and this year included participants from England, Australia and Morocco. This year, there are 300 full conference attendees, and some of the keynote speakers draw as many as 900 people. There are workshops on everything from
The Virtual Vacation Mexico: The New World Of Publishing Read More »
This morning I headed out in search of a pedicure before the conference begins. I was wearing open toed shoes and my toes look like crap. I stripped off the old polish before I left California, but now they have red ghost residue on them and look tawdry. I’m not particularly vain, but I think
The Virtual Vacation Mexico: Dexter And The Missed Pedicure Read More »
Today, Susan needed to go to Dolores Hidalgo, a small town a little more than an hour from San Miguel, to replace her ceramic water dispenser and its wobbly wooden stand. I went along for the ride and got a Mexican history lesson in the bargain. The first Mexican Revolution, Susan told me in the
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I always love the sweet promise of setting out on a trip before dawn. But it wasn’t until the end of a long day of travel, when I boarded the shuttle that would take me to Susan’s house, that it really hit me that I was in Mexico. The moment I walked out of the
The Virtual Vacation Mexico: Arrival Read More »
I dropped by Mom’s place today to remind her (for the sixth time) that I’ll be leaving to go to Mexico tomorrow. I’m heading back to teach at the San Miguel Writer’s Conference for the 4th year in a row, and I wanted to be sure that Mom would be okay while I was gone.
The Virtual Vacation Mexico: Saying Goodbye to Mom Read More »
I’m sitting on one of the old, soft couches in the lobby area of Newbold House, in the midst of all of my belongings. My soft black duffel bag is packed to the brim. I’m surrounded by a variety of outerwear since I don’t know what today’s weather will bring. To my right, my backpack
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We have entered the final days of our retreat. There is talk of taxis to the airport, last minute gifts, the loved ones we left behind, and the things we will be facing back home. People are letting in the reality that we will soon be saying goodbye to Scotland, to Newbold House, and to
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The basic schedule of this retreat, (on the days we aren’t heading out on a major outing) is writing group in the morning, free time all afternoon between lunch and dinner, and writing class in the evening. Open afternoons are important—they give people time to digest, to integrate, to spend time alone, to enjoy new
Virtual Vacation: Life At Newbold: Living In Community, Day 15 Read More »
(Dear Readers: This is another high-density post with lots of photos. You may need to let it load for a while before you come back and read it–Laura). Today was one of the “Seeing Scotland” days on our trip. Our first stop was Clava Cairns, a Bronze Age, 4000-year-old archeological site with burial cairns and
Virtual Vacation: Macbeth and High Tea, Day 14 Read More »
Every morning at 7:35 AM, there is meditation up in the sanctuary at Newbold House. It’s for the residents of the house, but as guests, we are all invited. After the meditation is a half hour of Taize singing—devotional singing from around the world, sung in four-part harmony. I showed up for meditation and singing
Virtual Vacation, Angels In Our Midst, Day 13 Read More »
