Greetings for 2012

Posted on 24 January 2012 by melissahasbrook

During the darkest weeks of this winter season, I stepped back to take in the fullness of the past year. The reflection surfaced gratitude, personally and professionally. As days began to lengthen, I retreated to Trout Lake in the Hiawatha Forest, where a new direction became clear. It is the same place where a glimpse of this web site emerged (see post “Beginnings”) and the last stage of “Circle…Home” took shape. And now as daylight catches up with the night’s watch, I am excited about my next path — even phase of life — as it leads in a fresh direction.

I will be sharing the width of these changes via Dey of the Phoenix in coming months, so I hope you stay tuned. The first news, though, I would share is that I am phasing out of organizing community programs early this year, and for some time to come. I am hosting a reading by author Marycela this Friday on January 27, and co-organizing the writing program Embodying Our Nature held on February 17 and 18; both events take place at Gone Wired Cafe (2021 E. Michigan Ave., Lansing). Visit The HerStories Project web site for details.

Putting on feature performances to benefit agencies serving survivors of violence, as well as HerStories programs celebrating stories about women and gender expression, has presented rewards and challenges. I would not be surprised that down the road community organizing becomes a part of my work again. But for an unknown time to come, I will be focusing on a new creative project revolving around a central question: What do certain stories tell us about healing?

At the start of 2012, I completed a one-year shamanic apprenticeship taught by Colleen Deatsman (Circle of Life), an amazing teacher alongside an amazing circle of souls. (Read here about shamanism.) The experience resonates with recent years among Friends, or Quakers, in Meetings for Worship with Attention to Healing, the intention being to “hold” one another in the Light. (Read here about Quaker Worship.) I am excited to see how this spiritual journey is shaping my current creative work and inspiring the next writing project — both stories to share in the near future.

So, as the first month of 2012 reaches a close, my wish for all: that each month unfolds joy, hope, and inspiration! For anyone in the Greater Lansing area interested in writing, you are more than welcome to join the open circle at The Writing Room. Through April, we meet 2nd and 4th Tuesdays from 6:30-8:30pm at the Women’s Center of Greater Lansing (1712 E. Michigan Ave.). Updates are available by subscription on the blog.

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The Final Round

Posted on 5 December 2011 by melissahasbrook

This week is the final round for launching my poetry collection Circle. . .Home, a publication brought to Greater Lansing through local events, with the publication and events made possible in part by a grant from the Arts Council of Greater Lansing. Thanks to all of you who have extended moral and/or material support during the year!

Tonight I speak on the theme “Throughout Generations” and share a selection from Circle. . .Home at the Kiwanis Club of Holt, which meets at Charlar Place (4230 Charlar Drive).  A special thanks to Karla Janing for introducing me to club members! Doors open at 6pm, dinner starts at 6:30pm, and the program at 7pm.

It feels right that my last event of the year mirrors the first — “Light in the Dark” from April. Like that feature performance, “generations: a night of poetry & music” on December 9, at (SCENE) Metrospace is a benefit for The Listening Ear Crisis Center. Performing with me are oboist Gretchen Morse (Lansing Symphony Orchestra) and band The Heades. The program begins at 7pm and suggested donation is $10 – 5, with proceeds going toward the Capital Area Sexual Assault Response Center.

“generations” is a unique performance in that the musicians and I organically developed the program, selecting poems from Circle. . .Home around a theme: the impact of war throughout generations, whose survival offers hope and inspiration despite cycles of violence. The event observes the international campaign 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence (Nov. 25 – Dec. 10) with its 2012 theme, calling for an end to militarism and gender violence. Partners include the RCAH Center for Poetry at MSU and Peace Education Center of Greater Lansing.

It would be a great pleasure to see old and new friends at this final event for 2011! Also, this performance is the last for at least several months, due to a hiatus I am taking. I look forward to the company of whomever will gather for the poetic-musical evening, which at the same time supports survivors of sexual violence in our community.

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It’s a New Dey! Nov. 22, 2011

Posted on 22 November 2011 by melissahasbrook

Here’s the second edition of “It’s a New Dey!“, a newsletter from deyofthephoenix.com about creative and community events.

And, remember, tonight is Bridges Open Mic, a written and spoken-word event presented by The HerStories Project. The program starts at 7:00pm at (SCENE) Metrospace of East Lansing and offers a great line-up of wordsmiths. Cover is $3, and the first 50 MSU students enter for free thanks to a donation from the MSU LBGT Resource Center.

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A Week with Roots

Posted on 15 November 2011 by melissahasbrook

The week’s an interesting one, by its end having visited my hometown of DeWitt twice. This frequency is rare, without immediate family residing there since the mid-1990s. My second trip comes this Thursday, November 17, for a reading of Circle. . .Home at the DeWitt District Library, 13101 Schavey Road, from 7:00pm to 8:00pm. Thanks to the Clinton County Historical Society for joining the event!

My first visit took me to the Creative Writing Club of DeWitt High School, from which I graduated with the Class of 1992, to my knowledge the last class with only 100 students. From that year, the Anishinabeg land — once widely farmed by immigrants — exploded with suburbanization, a process that began while my grandfather still was a dairy farmer. The conversation with students bubbled in their Class-A, two-story structure on Panther Drive, the paved way named after the school mascot; meanwhile, my “old” high-school is currently a middle-school.

The circle expressed particular interest in being a writer and publishing. It’s my hope to have encouraged them to pursue their own path — not one laid out by status-quo notions of career or writing — in other words, to be true to themselves. Such truth stems from one’s roots, which we need tap in order to bear our cultural legacies, in order to honor the land(s) from which we come, in order to use our gifts for present and future generations.

In the hub of energy and excitement, I’m sure some of my responses didn’t reach full circle, as one thought or another jumped the tracks. Once a reporter told me I have an “interesting” conversation style; apparently, I pick up a new point while still processing another! This case may very well be true, having been diagnosed with ADD after graduate school. So here I’ll take a moment to share a couple of thoughts that kicked around during the club visit. And thanks to clubbers and adviser Eder DeLaCruz for hosting!

  • Chrystos, a two-spirit poet-activist, advised me to share my poetry through chapbooks (self-published collections), since small presses that once took on women’s radical work have folded. I first took her advice with my friends to create Echoes of Women (2006), dedicated to our friend Samantha, a beautiful poet-teacher who we lost to suicide. Truth: The wisdom of elders and experience are necessary to keep our stories alive, and inspire innovations to survive a new time.

    • ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  • After the first day of public-speaking as a high-school sophomore, I anxiously transferred to something else, having been terrified after just one class. Nowadays, bringing words to life with people in real-time is what energizes my community work, aligning the power of The Word with the power of The People. Gathering a circle from various walks of life to listen to one another is powerful, as are all acts rooted in love. Truth: Despite past fears or current oppressions, embracing what keeps us alive — body, mind, and soul — is a matter of building up ourselves and our communities.

    • ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Finally, thanks to you, subscribers and readers, for following Dey of the Phoenix! Wishing you an inspired day, full of hope and enthusiasm.

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It’s a New Dey

Posted on 7 November 2011 by melissahasbrook

Dey of the Phoenix is my individual website, where I publish my words as well as pass on events. Yet within its domain name (deyofthephoenix.com), I also maintain web spaces for the grassroots endeavor The HerStories Project and The Writing Room — a bimonthly writing circle that offers a monthly open mic.

In an effort to highlight events from across the domain of deyofthephoenix.com, I’ve come up with “It’s a New Dey.” This periodic, creative-news update always will take the form of one letter-sized page to accomplish these aims: be brief and expedite its posting in print by supporters.

Thanks for any and all efforts to keep Greater Lansing up-to-date by passing on the very first edition of “It’s a New Dey!”

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The Beauty of Dreams

Posted on 6 November 2011 by melissahasbrook

Scribbles, No.1 ~ Photo by MDH

This lovely turn of phrase caught my attention a few weeks ago, and its uplift feels worthwhile to share. I hope it brings you a bright ray on this fine morning with a new time, as we “fall back” an hour in North America.

Dreams are a beautiful thing. While challenging to pursue, dreams are worth the journey, worth all the seasons we endure on our path. Often we change along the quest, and so then do the shape of our dreams. But there is an essence that beats, that spirals from past to present to future, that moves our feet to dance. Let’s dance on!

Gratitude continues to overflow for the materialized dream in my book “Circle. . .Home.” Events for the poetry collection’s initial release are coming to a close, but the joy of sharing it keeps flowing.

  • Today I give a free reading at 2:00pm at Absolute Gallery of Lansing (307 E. Grand River) as part of First Sunday Gallery Walk. The theme is “Across the Seasons.”

May your dreams blaze brilliantly — today, tomorrow, and always!

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Invocation of Light

Posted on 1 November 2011 by melissahasbrook

…I greet the black morning and its bright stars, frost pinching my nose, quiet filling my ears. Chiron, a stray dog into a fourth week of fostering, stretches his legs in the yard. We return to the warmth of the house, he exploring the scent left by my dog Mama, part of the family for four years after her rescue from the street. I ready the water kettle for the day’s first pot of tea, and it is time to write in the dark…

Good morning on this first day of November! By now, the sun is rising, as is an eagerness to share the gift of writing with new and old friends. “What is it about you and writing?” some may ask. Well, writing is that that thing that brings song to my soul, that tingles across my spine, and so simply is a joy to share.

Tonight “Writing in the Dark” begins, the first of four sessions at Coyote Wisdom Bookstore on Lansing’s north end. Walk-ins are welcome as space allows. For a preview, check out the post “Crossing the Threshold” (Oct. 29). A full description with rates are available on this page.

As part of First Sunday Gallery Walk, I give a poetry reading on November 6, at 2:00pm at Absolute Gallery, 307 East Grand River, Lansing, Michigan. The theme is “Across the Seasons” and selections are from my book “Circle. . .Home.” Thanks to Absolute Gallery owner Kathy Holcomb for the chance to “do” poetry in such an amazing space! Works by many Michigan and Great Lakes artists beautify the store.

And Monday, November 7, I present “Femestiza Writing about War,” a free workshop in collaboration with the Center for Poetry and the Peace Education Center. The session is open to the public and takes place from 7:00pm to 9:00pm at the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities of Michigan State University, Room C201 of Snyder-Phillips Hall (see map). Drop me a line at MelissaHasbrook[at]gmail.com if you plan to come!

In close, I pass on a new poem that arrived yesterday morning on Samhain or Hallow’s Eve Day. It’s seems especially appropriate with Daylight Savings’ Time coming to close this weekend!

Invocation of Light

Light Light
shine bright
no matter
what is said
or sworn
what is done
or torn

Light Light
hold tight
no matter
what I see
or hear
what I touch
or fear

Light Light
fill night
with matter
what is soul
and sound
what is heart
and found

Light Light
shine bright
hold tight
fill night
with you

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Crossing the Threshold

Posted on 29 October 2011 by melissahasbrook

…Yesterday I smelled winter on its away. I waited for a bus in the late-afternoon sun filtered by partially leafed, tree limbs. A fat brown squirrel cracked a nut nearby as the after-work traffic passed by. My silver tennis shoes rocked back-and-forth as I inhaled the cooling air and its promise of approaching snow. I smiled at the seasons, each so familiar that they are lodged in my marrow, imprinted on my soul. So familiar that confusion takes hold without white-outs during the dark time of year. You may take the girl out of the North, but not the North out of the girl…

Such are my reflections on this chilly morning, one of the last in October 2011, as we near Samhain and Día de los Muertos — distinct but kindred occasions that respect this time of year as crossing a threshold, an in-between time. Samhain is rooted in pagan Europe from Gaelic and Celtic traditions celebrating the harvest’s end and darker days, while the Day of the Dead hails from Mexico’s indigenous roots to honor departed loved ones.

I have in mind this spirit of crossing the threshold with coming events, including today’s poetry readings. My first reading is at 1:00pm at Fenner Nature Center (Lansing) with a focus on nature and community, in particular the impact of human use of the land. Snacks are served before the reading, and a suggested donation of $5 benefits Fenner.

This evening I give a free poetry reading at 6:00pm at Triple Goddess Bookstore (Okemos) in honor of ancestors and as part of the store’s weekend-long Halloween Party. Also I will share poetry as part of the ceremony at 7:00pm that follows the reading.

And Tuesday, November 1, is the first of my four workshops titled “Writing in the Dark” given at Coyote Wisdom Bookstore (Lansing). On this night, we are writing about ancestral roots and our bones — things on which our physical and creative flesh hangs. Our inspiration will be sparked by ancestors, those indigenous, enslaved, as well as immigrated to North America; St. Teresa of Avila, whose coveted bones became scattered holy relics; and La Loba, the wild woman who gathers and sings over wolf bones. Registration online or at the store is encouraged; walk-ins are welcome if space allows.

Wherever you may be today or in coming days, as the dark continues to lengthen here in the North, I wish you a bright spirit to keep your hope and imagination warm!

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Give Away

Posted on 25 October 2011 by melissahasbrook

At the workshop “Writing as Healing,” participants taught me the importance of listening, often times a challenge for wordy-types like myself. The lesson especially was fitting for a program being given at The Listening Ear Crisis Center, which offers a 24-hour phone line to anyone needing to be heard: (517) 337-1717. A special thanks to volunteer staff for making us feel welcome and comfortable! Also thanks to the Women’s Center of Greater Lansing for taking registrations.

The materials we explored over the day shared this aim: Healing is a matter of telling the story about who we are becoming, not who we have been.  “Woundology and the Healing Fire” by Caroline Myss (People Who Don’t Heal and How They Can), “now let us shift . . . the path of conocimiento . . . inner works, public acts” by Gloria Anzaldúa (this bridge we call home), and poems from my collection Circle. . .Home pointed us in this direction. We need not go amnesiac, but rather build our present and future with recognition of where we have come from.

Without a doubt, perpetrators of intimate partner, sexual, and domestic violence are responsible for their actions. As survivors, though, we are left with the choice about how to live after trauma. And stepping back to consider life from the width of our experiences, there are certain habits and outlooks that foster resentment, ultimately piling grief upon grief instead of freeing us to live with peace and joy.  This focus led me to journal at the workshop about a very unexpected exchange last week about “airing dirty laundry” when we believe someone has “done us wrong.”

The surprising exchange made me ask myself: Why do we drudge up old wounds? What do we get from telling trauma stories? How does “dumping” our resentments impact others? In the asking, I recognized my own patterns and triggers, as well as the desire to be free from them. And an awareness surfaced from this process: Needing to be heard is not the same as needing to re-live the pain of certain memories and needing others to re-live them with you.

Here is the poem that resulted from my intention to embrace the power of love over the power of violence. “Give Away” is dedicated to the workshop participants. And thanks to the circle at The Writing Room for feedback on its earlier version.

Give Away

I am ready to give away
many things to the Earth
things that I have held
and held too long
grudges
indignation
certainty
that I am right

I am ready to give away
my sorrow and grief
that familiar pain
gouging my flesh
the pleasure from certainty
that I was wronged

I am ready to give away
the loss of dignity
the gain of humiliation
violations of body mind soul
the wound and scar

to the Earth
I am ready to give away
everything
that takes away
my hope
my joy
my peace
the choice to live
in love

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Playing with Shadows

Posted on 24 October 2011 by melissahasbrook

My recent workshop “Writing as Healing” gave rise to a new piece, also inspired by recent events that reminded me about laying down the power of past pains.  It’s a poem-in-progress called “Give Away,” and I look forward to sharing it after feedback at The Writing Room tonight — 6:30 to 8:30pm at the Women’s Center of Greater Lansing.  Reminder: this writing circle is open to everyone and all genres.

And I look forward to partaking in more workshops in coming months! Check out my new series “Writing in the Dark” held at Coyote Wisdom Bookstore, 2432 N. Grand River Ave., Lansing, Michigan. The four sessions begin November 1, 2011, and run through January 2012, with discounted rates for multiple workshops. Click here for the flyer.

Meanwhile, the weekend promises a fun time with two readings for “Circle. . .Home” here in the Greater Lansing Area:

  • Fenner Nature Center, 1:00pm – 2:00pm;
  • and Triple Goddess Bookstore at 6:00pm with ceremony to follow at 7:00pm.

I’m excited to share the poetry collection with old friends and new faces. Thanks again for your support.

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