Connecting on a Saturday Afternoon

Cardyn Brooks is an author, book blogger at BlerdyBingeReader, and the Outreach Coordinater and Co-Organizer of TWWBF.

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Heal Write Away in Bowie

“Heal Write Away” workshop by professor, educational consultant, poet, and author Aressa Williams offers participants a series of interactive tasks that foster emotional connections within each individual and between each person. Her instructional style is that of a conversational sage with a humorous, upbeat vibe. Everything about her manner invites workshop attendees to listen and to engage with conscious intentions. A fun introductory group activity encourages everyone to share a few details about themselves, which makes it easier to address people by name during the rest of the event. Practical suggestions for making daily meditation accessible, journaling guidelines, writing prompts, and more generate a palpable creative momentum. Near the end of the workshop hosted by the Prince George’s County chapter of the Maryland Writers’ Association* and held at the South Bowie Branch Library on Saturday, January 11, 2020, some participants shared that they now knew more about the people in the room than they did about the neighbors living on either side of their home after a few years of residency. If alienation and loneliness are on the rise in today’s society, then the “Heal Write Away” workshop is one activity that contributes toward reversing that trend. 

*Professor Williams and the president of the P.G. County chapter of the Maryland Writers’ Association met and exchanged contact details at the first annual The Write Women Book Fest held at Marietta House Museum September 2019. Come engage and network with an inclusive variety of female and female-identifying creative people at the second annual TWWBF on Saturday, September 26, 2020.