TRAVELS (and more) WITH CECILIA BRAINARD: Creative Writing Workshop Organized by Peace Corps Volunteer, Susan Brooks

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Creative Writing Workshop Organized by Peace Corps Volunteer, Susan Brooks

Susan Brooks, a Peace Corps Volunteer, assigned in Bago, Negros, organized a five-day Creative Writing Workshop last May for the students of Ramon Torres National High School in Bago, Negros, Philippines.

She invited me to participate in the Writing Conference part of the Workshop, which I did via Skype. (It was the first time I used Skype!) Please read the news clippings below; the Workshop offered quite a lot to the students and should make an excellent model for other teachers.

Thanks again to Susan and the other organizers for including me. The students sent me thank you notes and I'll quote a few:

* "Thank you so much for sharing an inspirational message for us. I really reached many highs from you. May you continue to teach others about writing. God bless" - Jean Clarisse A. Ignacio

* "There might be nothing, but sometimes there is something on a draft." Thank you for inspiring us despite your schedules and being nice...I hope that someday I'll be like you, successful but still, a writer..." - Jirah Joy R. Gicana

*You are a very amazing author! And thank you for those things you shared to us. Your ideas and thoughts, experiences, and your stories in life. May God bless you and guide you always!" - France Anne J. Robaton

*Thank you so much Ms. Cecilia for sharing your time with us. You really did an amazing work. You keep inspiring us! God bless and take care! :) - Angel Veronque Cantoriag

*"Good day, Ma'am. I am so happy that you have share(d) with (us) your precious time. Thank you for sharing with us the essential factors on how to become a more creative writer. Thank you for welcoming us. I hope that we can see and speak to you again. Thanks so much and God bless." Lovelie Prisciven G. Beduyo

From Sunstar Bacolod & From the Visayas Daily Star

Photo l-r: Susan Brooks, Cecilia Brainard, Elaine Sweet (taken in Cebu, June 23, 2013)

Read also Interview of American Peace Corps Volunteer -- Susan Brooks

tags: writing, Philippine literature, Peace Corps Volunteer, Bago, Negros, creative writing, Filipino writers, Philippine authors, Cecilia Manguerra Brainard, Jose Dalisay, Susan Brooks

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard

Cecilia Manguerra Brainard's official website is ceciliabrainarddotcom. She is the award-winning author and editor of 22 books, including When the Rainbow Goddess Wept, The Newspaper Widow, Magdalena, Selected Stories, Vigan and Other Stories, and more. She edited Growing Up Filipino 1, 2, & 3, Fiction by Filipinos in America, Contemporary Fiction by Filipinos in America, and other books.. Her work has been translated into Finnish and Turkish; and many of her stories and articles have been widely anthologized. Cecilia has received many awards, including a California Arts Council Fellowship in Fiction, a Brody Arts Fund Award, a Special Recognition Award for her work dealing with Asian American youths, as well as a Certificate of Recognition from the California State Senate, 21st District, and the Outstanding Individual Award from her birth city, Cebu, Philippines. She has lectured and performed at UCLA, USC, University of Connecticut, University of the Philippines, PEN, Shakespeare & Company in Paris, and many others. She has served in the Board of literary arts groups such as PEN, PAWWA (Pacific Asian American Writers West), among others.