APRIL 5, 2018 // 7
DO THE
WRITE
THING
Local author launches
The Writer’s Guild in April
By KATHERINE LACAZE
FOR COAST WEEKEND
A
storia authors and literary artists
are joining together to develop an
organization that provides support
for local writers and promotes literacy
community-wide.
Led by author and educator Marianne
Monson, The Writer’s Guild in Astoria
is starting to take shape. The first official
meeting is scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. Tues-
day, April 17, at WineKraft (80 10th St.)
in Astoria.
“I’m really excited about it,” said Mon-
son, who also teaches at Clatsop Com-
munity College and leads writer retreats
overseas. “Right now, it’s more ideas than
anything, but it’s coming together and
there’s been a really good response. I think
this community is just ripe for it.”
When she moved to Astoria last sum-
mer, she began searching for a similar
organization to join. Realizing there
wasn’t one, Monson took it upon herself
to gather a coalition of other writers and
educators so they could develop such a
group themselves.
Sharing space
The vision for the Guild is to “build
a community of writers in Astoria and
strengthen the larger community through
the power of the written word.”
“My goal was to start an organization
that would connect the writing communi-
ty and create an avenue to provide more
resources for writers,” Monson said.
Its intended projects include offer-
ing workshops and retreats for writers;
strengthening literacy through the creation
of writer-in-residency programs; and
training a core group of workshop facilita-
tors equipped to aid writing workshops for
at-risk populations in the community.
Initially, the Guild will be structured as
an LLC with nonprofit programming and,
eventually, partnerships with other estab-
lished nonprofits, Monson said.
To pick up momentum, the organization
COURTESY JOAN OAKEY
Astoria author and educator Marianne Monson (right) works with Shahnaz Radjy during a recent writing retreat in Sintra, Portugal. Monson is the
founder of The Writer’s Guild in Astoria.
is holding monthly gatherings, which will
take place the third Tuesday evening of
each month at WineKraft to complement
the Ric’s Poetry Mic program held there
the first Tuesday of each month. The meet-
ings are open to the public. From 6 to 7
p.m., the Guild will offer a writing prompt
for attendees to respond to, in addition to
time for socializing, sharing professional
insights and discussing Guild business.
From 7 to 8 p.m., attendees can share
poetry and prose during an open mic.
Writers, like any other group of cre-
ative people, Monson said, often sense the
need for a “community to share and get
feedback to help make our way through a
creative process.” Sharing work in critique
sessions should be “an affirming experi-
ence,” where everyone feels accepted and
welcomed by other writers.
“The best (outcome) is that it sends
you back to the page more inspired to
write and with a new method or skill to
approach it,” she said.
Find your voice
Monson is personally leading several
Astoria Writer’s Workshops at her home
during the next few months. Upcoming
workshops include Publishing and Mar-
keting for Writers on Saturday, April 21;
Writing for Children and Young Adults
on Saturday, May 19; Breathing Life
into Non-Fiction and Memoir on Satur-
day, June 9; and The Art of Revision on
Saturday, July 21. Workshops are held
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a two-hour break
for lunch.
For future creative writing workshops
facilitated on behalf of The Writer’s
Guild, the typical structure will be two-
hour sessions that last 10 weeks. The
participant-centered workshops will be
led by a professional writer and expe-
rienced facilitator and explore many
aspects of genre and craft.
Borrowing a similar idea from Write
Around Portland, Monson envisions
these workshops could be offered to
at-risk populations at locations such
as Tongue Point Job Corps, domestic
violence shelters, local jails or prisons,
and elsewhere. She believes writing is
an effective tool both for artistic ex-
pression, and as a means of healing and
empowerment.
Workshops would be tailored and de-
signed in collaboration with community
partners to best meet the needs of the
population they serve. At the end of the
workshop, projects created by students
during each program would be celebrat-
ed and shared with the broader commu-
nity in some way, such as an open mic
event or a publication.
“I’ve seen the power of putting a pen
in people’s hands and allowing them
to tell their story and find their voice,”
Monson said. “It’s incredibly powerful
and very freeing.”
The Guild also recently procured an
official logo, created by Polk Riley’s
Printing and Design, and developed a
new website at TheWritersGuild.org.
The guild structure includes a member-
ship component, but Monson said they
are still working through the financial
aspect. She intends, however, “to make
it really accessible to all budgets.”
To learn more or register for the
upcoming writer workshops, contact
Monson at 503-709-5740 or marianne.
monson@gmail.com, or visit her website
at mariannemonson.com. CW