Afternoon Seminars & Workshops

 

BC-09  — Creative Writing Workshop – “Scribblings of Hope”

Joy Jordan-Lake

British author Fay Weldon has said that writers “[fashion] nets to sustain and support the reader as he falls helplessly through the chaos of his own existence.” During Oxbridge 2011 as we consider paradigms of hope in the midst of chaos and despair, the Scribblings, (as we’ll call ourselves--humble descendants of the Inklings) will meet to encourage and assist one another. We’ll create an affirming atmosphere for reading and commenting on one another’s work, hear the often grim, full-of-failure background stories of now-respected writers, and discuss specifics for creating a writing life that is more than a rainy-day hobby or unfulfilled dream.  Writers of all expertise levels are welcome to come celebrate the creative life -- and the privilege of working in community.

Join the group specifically for Oxbridge 2011 Creative Writing Workshop participants on Facebook at The Scribblings — and get to know your creative community before you even board your plane!

 

Joy Jordan-Lake — Author of five books, including Blue Hole Back Home, winner of the Christy Award for Best First Novel; Grit and Grace:  Portraits of a Woman’s Life; Whitewashing Uncle Tom’s Cabin:  Nineteenth-Century Women Novelists Respond to Stowe; Working Families: Navigating the Demands and Delights of Marriage, Parenting and Career; and Why Jesus Makes Me Nervous: Ten Alarming Words of Faith.  She earned a Ph.D. in English Literature, as well as an M.A. from a theological seminary.  She has served as the associate pastor of a church in Cambridge, Mass. and was a Baptist Chaplain at Harvard University.  With her husband and three children, she lives just south of Nashville, where she continues writing fiction and nonfiction, as well as the blog “Writing in the Midst of Real Life.” In addition to leading retreats and workshops, Joy teaches as an adjunct professor at Belmont University.