Listening for Your Original Voice
Last month, after my mother and I were both fully vaccinated, I flew to Maine to visit her for Mother’s Day. She picked me up in Portland...
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Sue McCollum
- May 1
- 4 min
The Gift of Legacy
The 120-year-old embroidery piece my grandmother created when she was a teen hangs on my office wall. It was a sewing exercise for her to...
128 views0 comments
Lisa Colburn
- Apr 8
- 3 min
The Week That Changed My Life
“Tell me something I can’t forget.”—Pat Schneider, founder of Amherst Writers & Artists I can’t forget Pat Schneider’s charming yellow...
156 views7 comments
Lisa Colburn
- Mar 23
- 12 min
Writers on Reading
March is National Reading Month, which I am happy to celebrate since—like most writers—I love to read! My earliest reading memories are...
209 views1 comment
Lisa Colburn
- Feb 25
- 3 min
Bye for Now, Bailey
Everything you go through grows you – Bob Sima, “No Mud, No Lotus” On Monday night I had the honor of hosting a special event to launch...
259 views6 comments
Lisa Colburn
- Jan 2
- 3 min
Finding Joy
“I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve (or save) the world and a desire to enjoy (or savor) the world. This makes it...
357 views6 comments
Lisa Colburn
- Aug 24, 2020
- 4 min
Remembering Pat Schneider
It wasn’t Emily Dickinson who put Amherst, Massachusetts on the map for me: it was Pat Schneider. Pat was a gifted poet, author, and...
265 views0 comments
Lisa Colburn
- May 10, 2020
- 4 min
Phenomenal Women
In early March I offered this video of Maya Angelou reading her poem "Phenomenal Woman" as a writing prompt to celebrate International...
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Lisa Colburn
- Dec 9, 2019
- 3 min
Beginning Again (and Again)
Do you ever want to hit the reset button and begin again? I certainly do, especially when it comes to my writing practice. As many of you...
116 views1 comment
Lisa Colburn
- Oct 16, 2019
- 4 min
The Perfect Writer's Getaway
I am writing this at my desk in cabin #20 at the Highlights Foundation’s retreat center. As I look out my window past the screened-in...
88 views0 comments
Lisa Colburn
- Apr 23, 2019
- 3 min
Writer Showcase: Lynn Lothman
I've enjoyed having Lynn Lothman as a participant in my Monday afternoon Amherst Writers & Artists workshop, “Writing from the Heart.”...
79 views0 comments
Lisa Colburn
- Mar 28, 2019
- 1 min
Writer Showcase: Barbara Leary
It's been far too long since I've showcased one of the talented writers in my Monday afternoon women's writing workshop, "Writing from...
80 views0 comments
Lisa Colburn
- Feb 20, 2019
- 3 min
10 Things To Do on a Snow Day
Where I live in Loudoun County, the snow is falling thickly. According to the forecast, we are supposed to get up to 10 inches, which is...
116 views0 comments
Lisa Colburn
- Aug 24, 2018
- 3 min
Where Do You Write?
Sometimes I think I do my best writing on my friend Summer Hardinge’s screen porch. As a writing workshop leader, I have long realized...
92 views0 comments
Lisa Colburn
- Jun 19, 2018
- 3 min
Try This: Small Stones
At the end of April a small group of writers joined me for Flower & Garden / Pen & Page, a Saturday morning writing workshop that...
192 views0 comments
Lisa Colburn
- May 18, 2018
- 4 min
Try This: Ode to Childhood Junk Food
In the last six-week session of Writing from the Heart, one of our favorite prompts was this: Write about your favorite childhood junk...
99 views0 comments
Lisa Colburn
- Feb 9, 2018
- 2 min
Markets: How to Submit to Visual Verse
Sometimes as writers we just need a quick fix—to be noticed, to have our work read by someone other than our spouse, and to see our words...
57 views0 comments
Lisa Colburn
- Nov 12, 2017
- 4 min
Notes from a Self-Directed Writing Retreat
“If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans.” —Woody Allen On Thursday I made the five-hour drive to Milanville,...
80 views0 comments
Lisa Colburn
- Nov 1, 2017
- 1 min
Writer Showcase: Holly Peterson
A new session of Writing from the Heart, a women’s Amherst Writers & Artists workshop, began on Monday. I had been looking forward to...
31 views0 comments
Lisa Colburn
- Jul 17, 2017
- 3 min
Living the Dream
Last Wednesday night I manifested a dream. For years, ever since I became a writing workshop leader, I have felt called to offer a class...
103 views0 comments
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