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December 1, 2004
sine the 'chrysalis':
i
Johnson
kamas Print
•campus women writers’
ysalis, is just as its name
salis is the hard cocoon
ie grows inside of, as it
an adult putterfly. Like
ke, any group members
iu that Chrysallis is just
»tected stage of develop-
•lace of exploration and
>r women writers of all
enres, who desire differ-
'or their writing.
depends On a woman’s
ler writing interest,” said
uber Roxie Matthews,
een with the group for
zen” years.
i want to further your
dlls it’s a wonderful
he added. “It’s very
lave people at all lev
’s very supportive.”
>up has grown over the
ars from being
;roup of
women, to a much larger group
that now often reaches 20 women
at a time.
The group meets once a week,
and women share and discuss their
pieces, ranging from poetry to
memoirs, short stories to novels.
“The very first day I knew I
was home,” said group member
Susan Landis-Steward, who has
now been with the group for just
over a year. Due to a brain injury,
she was unable to work, and
sought out Chrysalis.
‘T was very afraid going because
I thought, ‘I’m either going to be
hopelessly outclassed, or these are
going to be wannabe writers, and
no matter what I’m going to be a
fish out of water,”’ said Landis-
Steward. “Right away, I felt like my
writing was right there in the mix
and that they had lots to offer me
and I had lots to offer them and that
it was going to be a good thing.”
During a meeting of Chrysalis,
ties
members typically bring in a piece
of writing, hand out copies to other
members and then read it aloud, but
not everyone is expected to bring
something.
“You don’t have to read. It’s
totally up to you; if you want to
read you can, if you don’t you don’t
have to, so there’s no pressure,”
said Landis-Steward.
For most members, however,
even without sharing, the meetings
have something rich to offer.
“Some weeks I don’t bring writ
ing but I still wouldn’t want to miss
the group, really for the simple joy
of a good story,” said Pat Lichen,
the group’s facilitator, who’s been a
part of Chrysalis for five years.
“There are women who come
from one week to the next and
there are these ongoing novels
that they are writing,” she said,
“and I’m looking forward to the
next installment.”
For those who do choose to
read, one can’easily request a cer
tain kind of feedback, or ask
for none at all.
“You read [your
piece] out
Karlin Johnson Clackamas Print
, the Clackamas women writers’ group, meets Wednesdays from noon to 2 p.m. in
ry Arts Center in Rook Hall, arid women can join at any time during the term.
.S
Group helps women writers
flourish though peer response
Karlin Johnson Clackamas Print
Members of Chrysalis, Sally Stone, Ginny Weber and
Ellen Mendoza participate in a group critique.
critique it,” said Matthews.
“Different people have different
needs, so they tell us, ‘I just want
ed to share this,’ or, ‘I just wanted
to have somebody check my punc
tuation on this,’ or, ‘How is this
poem coming together?’ Each per
son comes with their own individ
ual interests and needs.”
Women in Chrysalis, especially
those who have been a part of the
group for quite a while, are very
aware of what different writers may
need to hear.
“[Chrysalis is] the kind of place
where we go easy on people until
we get to know them and even then,
there’s people that have said, ‘I
want you to critique the hell out of
me,”’ said Landis-Steward, “and
there’s others that need a little more
nurturing style, and I think every
one’s needs sort of get met”
Aside from the business
aspect of Chrysalis, members
form friendships.
“The meetings are the only
time I see most of these people,
and you really forge a connec
tion,” said Lichen.
Many members have grown
immensely in their time with the
group, and their writing has gone
beyond “just for firn.”
“[Chrysalis] has just been a
wonderful, wonderful opportunity
for me,” said Matthews. “Between
my husband’s support and the
direction that I’ve been able to get
from Chrysalis, I’ve got a novel and
an agent and have had some short
stories published.”
Landis-Steward has just been
published in a magazine called
Spinoff, about hand-spinning yam.
“It’s an article that I took to the
group and I said ‘You know, I’ve
been asked to write this article and
I’m going to read it to you and I
want you to critique the hell out of
it,’ and they did, and they helped me
make it better,” she said. “It will be
kind of exciting when it hits news
stands and bookstores to see a mag
azine with my article in it.”
Joining Chrysalis is as easy as
flipping through your course sched
ule. It is offered every term, free of
charge, and for no credit. The group
meets every Wednesday in the
Literary Arts Center (upper level
Roger Rook Hall) from noon to 2
p.m., and women can join at any
point in the term.
ino recognized by ‘Who’s Who’
oreasen
ckamas Print
It’s what we do. And we do it well.
drd time’s always a charm, then Science
Ritch Espino, getting published in the
ho Among American Teachers” publi-
the fourth time must be something truly
WAAT, an annual publication as of
)04 (previously bi-annual), is based on
“National Dean’s List” students about
ite teacher, and when a winning letter is
>r publication, an award is sent to the
spino, however, feels like he’s still as
ie first time.
ad some pretty good luck with stu-
id Espino, “which is tough because
physiology is] one of the toughest
iund here.”
has spent a long time working to get
s, but with three kids, a wife, and a clin-
he practices chiropractic medicine,
sis like he hasn’t done anything he’d
ibove and beyond.’
g these awards is really, really nice,
ik, for me, I just do it ... I don’t even
it it,” he said. “I’m no different or any
i any of the other teachers ... in some
Embarrassing to be recognized.”
g hard to achieve what he has and eam-
n place in the universe has some pretty
meets as well. Espino feels that teach-
wn reward, and he loves nothing more
a positive influence in a student’s life.
e, there’s a lot of successes out there,”
rhe biggest success is somebody who
:el good about themselves or hasn’t
jssfiil in school and you’re a little tiny
lping them be successful ... that’s it
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right there.”
After all the awards, and all the work, Espino
feels like there’s a bigger message to be learned
from the success he’s had. A good friend once
brought someone to meet Espino and told him that
Espino was both a teacher and a doctor. The man
looked at Espino and said, “You don’t look like
one.”
“I think the message there,” Espino said in ret
rospect, “is you just kind of are what you are.
Looks, pretense; that stuff doesn’t really matter.”
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