Carol Now: News, Events, Updates
Doha Redux
A good thing I'm not afraid of heights!
I had a great stay in Qatar once again. The digs were fabulous–this space age hotel in Doha, a city that's become almost a second home to me over the past 3 years.
This time I was there to teach a week-long workshop in Creative Nonfiction for Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing, and to work with the Doha Writers Workshop.
Back Home
I'm winding down a bit for the summer, during which both my husband and I plan to finish books.
New Essays from the Persian Gulf
Announcing Qatar: Then & Now, the second collection I have edited in the Qatar Narratives series of personal essays from residents of the Middle East. (See left sidebar.)
The new volume includes contributions from both men
and women and focuses on the rapidly changing cultural landscape in Qatar.
A Book Release and Public Reading was held on March 11, 2009, at Waqif Art Center in Doha, Qatar. To read about an earlier event, held when I visited Doha to work with the essayists, click here.
Recently @ Paper, Scissors, Pen
The workshop was sub-titled "Making Books that Matter," and the folks in the picture below were doing just that.
Co-presenter Deb Suchoff and I helped a group of 16 writers expand their work into the visual, using specific techniques: the scrolls, woven word book, boxes to hold intentions or secrets, and more.
Below, a woven word book I made, featuring my daughter Olivia.
Spring 2009 Workshops - CLICK HERE
Try My Picks
I'm constantly recommending books to my clients and workshop students. Now, I've gathered them in a single place, a "store" on my site where, if you're inclined, you can find out more, even click and buy them. It's called Carol's Picks, and you can check it out by clicking here.
Hear My "Morning Stories" Interview
Recently, I was interviewed by Tony Kahn co-host of "Morning Stories," produced by WGBH, Boston.
The finished interview, "Malcolm," was broadcast live on July 22 (8:30 am EST).
You can download a podcast version here.
The Workshop at Le Pin
Last June, I hosted
a visual writing residency at Le
Pin, a chateau in the Loire Valley of France, a place alive with history and full of great places to write.
Inside and
out, Le Pin
is a constant
feast of extraordinary images.We all rediscovered
how inspirational travel can be.
"My week at La Pin was like a writer's fantasy camp. I wrote until I couldn't keep my eyes open, and when I woke up I wrote down my dreams. The most writing I've done, the best writing I've done, and I've been going strong ever since."
Patrick Link,
New York City
Last year's successful program was the first of what we hope will be many here at Le Pin.We plan to do it again, and we look forward to doing it again.
Plan ahead to give your creative self a blast of new experience.
Be on my mailing list to ensure a place
in one of my future workshop retreats.
Home from the Middle EastI’m back in the US after a fascinating six-week residency
in Qatar, where I taught writing to a group of Qatar University students and to the QU library staff. I also
taught a day-long writing workshop to a group of ex-pats, living in Qatar. For news about the programs click here and here.
And for more informal details, and pictures from my stay there, visit my blog.k Here.
Clockwise, from top left: Carol with Qatari students, leading a workshop, teaching a class, giving a reading.
Let Carol help you turn your idea into a book
Boston writer Bill Buffett (below, right) and designer Rick Rawlins, consult with Carol on Bill's new book, Foods You Will Enjoy–the Story of Buffett's Store. It's an informal history of his family's grocery store, founded by his great-grandfather in 1869. At the time his father closed it in in 1969, "Buffett's" was the oldest independent grocery in Nebraska.
Bill Buffett talks about Carol...
"I became a writer at age 74 and couldn't have had a better coach. Carol Henderson is clear, direct, focused, and leaves me feeling that it is my own voice on the written page. She helps me say better what I want to say, and I value that highly. I have writing plans to last me a long time and hope Carol Henderson will walk that road with me."
Carol Henderson
works with writers at all levels of skill and experience. Her beat is the power of writing to create change–and she offers three distinct ways to help make that happen:
Coaching
One-on-one, live or by phone, Carol helps writers realize their projects by finding the story in their material, then developing the most effective voice and form in which to realize it. [More]
FROM A RECENT WORKSHOP...
"I'm so grateful for your workshop. I think I'll be writing a lot more now that I'm reawakening in a way—the group gave me some community that was safe and encouraging, where I could try out words and images . . . and it reminded me that on the fringes is where I fit best. It was also very encouraging of my actual writing as well as my voice."
–Caroline Proctor, Executive Director and Chaplain Presbyterian Prison Ministry, Inc. Raleigh, NC
Workshops
Carol's workshops have become well-known for their synergy. Her approach works for groups of writers at all levels–from the beginner, eagerto delve into the challenges of transforming feelings and ideas into polished, vibrant prose, to professional, looking new patterns, new creative sparks. [More Info]
Professional Programs
Specializing in 1-to-3 day workshops designed to introduce transformative writing as a powerful revitalization tool for health professionals, counselors, and human resource managers. "We use language every day for the necessities, but seldom for self discovery, to learn what we think or feel – or simply to delight ourselves and others." [More info]
FROM A RECENT WORKSHOP...
"As if you can do such a thing, prepare yourself for surprises. Stories will emerge you didn't know were inside of you. Your fellow participants will take risks that shock you. Writers will shed their personalities to become authentic storytellers. You can expect all this and more, though you must experience it to realize the power of Carol Henderson's writing workshop... Carol provides insightful, thought-provoking prompts that encourage a variety of writing styles and types. The creative, supportive atmosphere Carol creates seeps in and takes hold so that by the end of the week her writers are reaching new depths and producing a different caliber of writing."
–Celina Mincey, Charlotte, North Carolina
