Saturday at the Oasis

[Joe Bellacero]

“Jen cut the dirty brown dreads that spiraled down her back and became bald. I don't know her anymore. Jen, where are you now? I want to tell you that someone painted the outside of the museum yellow.”--Donna Hutchinson

Columbus Circle, The 42nd Street Library, The Conservatory Gardens of Central Park, The South Street Seaport, Greenwich Village, Ellis Island, Harlem, The Cloisters and Crown Heights…

Over the past three school years the NYCWP has held nine writing marathons in some of the most interesting places in the world’s most interesting city. For participants, each gathering has been an oasis visit; a chance to step off the desert caravan of the teaching life and rest themselves in shared experience and shared writing.

If you have yet to join us, you may not know that behind its rather scary name, a WRITING MARATHON is a relaxing, liberating experience. The rules are simple, and are really little more than suggestions:
1. Travel in groups of 3 to 5 writers.
2. Decide how long you will walk, how long you will write at each stop.
3. After you have written, all participants are invited to share their writing and may decline.
4. There is NO praise or criticism, only thanks for sharing.
5. If you stop in a café you should buy something.
6. If anyone asks what is going on, you should respond that you are writers.
7. Remember, you are doing this for yourself and no one else.

The conversation is easy, salted with interest and peppered with laughter. The sights are familiar and yet new. The writing is…well, the writing is anything and everything. It ranges from the silly to the sad, from the glories of girls in jeans to the hunger for a father’s love. And, as can be seen from the samples shared by Donna at the beginning of this piece and Noah at the end, it ranges from lost friends to the lust to grow things.

Participants arrive with their friends, their relatives (grandchildren, nieces and nephews, sons and daughters), their students, their visitors from out of state, their spouses and their own selves. All are welcomed and all add to the experience. They’ve given up an extra hour in bed to begin their week-end in peace, fun and fellowship—not a bad exchange.

As we enter the final month of the school year, our minds turn to final exams and well-earned, much needed vacations, but I hope we will keep in mind that next year will bring three more writing marathons and three more mini-vacations for all to share.

I want to thank the members of the NYCWP Continuity Committee, Lona Jack-Vilmar and Debi Freeman, for their suggestions and participation. And we’d all like to thank the marathon participants for the contributions they have made to our growth as teachers and are ability to cope with and even enjoy the challenges we have had to face.

We’ll leave you as we began with a sample that came from the Crown Heights Writing Marathon…

My plants better be growing right now. There's no rest for the Radish. I'm still on the first step at Gardeners Anonymous - I'm ready to admit: I am powerless over my plants. My cravings are the worst in the mornings; as I leave the front door of my apartment for work, I begin to catch the fever. Our garden is steps away, I haven't seen it in hours. I'm sure by now the Snapdragon seeds are fully matured, blooming clusters of petal. I have been warned that I will need patience with this botany thing. I say it is making me more Impatient (Look mom, my first gardening pun!). But yeah, I have very unrealistic expectations for my first plants - come on, I'm from the high-speed-wireless-internet era, I have no way of understanding the 56K-land-line speed of our Basil. What's the buffering time on our Chiles anyhow? So, today, away from my sprouts, I study the trees, searching for a lesson on patience.--Noah Coston

(Get a sense of the places by looking at My Photos).

[Felicia]

Thank you, Joe for this wonderful glimpse into our Writing Marathons. I especially like that you got some folks to share a bit of their writing. I've been on a few and I can attest to all that you say about the experience. I've also missed a few and I have a sense that I missed out on a great deal.

I'm looking forward to what you come up with for the next school year. There are so many wonderful "gems" in this city - neighborhoods less well known but worth exploring.

We used to have a group interested in photography that went on Shoot and Walk marathons. Those were nice, too!