WORDSLINGER: have laptop, will travel

I am a writer and passionate about stories. In the course of the work I do and have done, I have been privileged to hear the stories people tell about their lives, their journeys, their work and their families. I am a highly skilled listener and interviewer simply because I am  fascinated by people’s stories. My quest is to assist people in telling their stories, by whatever means necessary.

Sometimes the way to tell the story is through direct interviews. As editor and feature writer of  a community newspaper, I often interview people and write feature stories about them. I am also a Personal Historian and assist families in writing family histories or editing memoirs.

Another way to “create your story” is through rituals associated with rites of passage: births and baptism, weddings, death and memorials; significant markers during your life, like coming of age, passing into maturity, blessing a house or Blessing the Animals. As a state licensed ecumenical  minister, I can help you write services and ceremonies that have meaning to you, your loved ones and community. See my page: Down to Earth Services to learn more.

Then again, you may need to explore your personal story within the realm of the expressive arts: perhaps words are not enough; perhaps words are too much. Perhaps you have to re-cover or re-create your own personal story. In the words of one observer: Sometimes, in order to tell the truth, you have to make it up.

I have extensive experience as an community arts outreach specialist and performing puppeteer and use a variety of modalities, including journaling, poetry, therapeutic puppetry, sandtray  and performance.  See my Puppetkind page for further information about this realm.

The inspiration for my approach to “performance” came from my experience as a street performer in the 1970s. I explored and refined this approach during my Master’s program at Antioch University (McGregor) and received my Individualized Master’s of Art degree in Transformational Theatre and Sacred Drama.

This webpage and the person behind it is a work in progress and will be updated frequently.

Glad you stopped by; email me with any questions or comments and come back again.