Greenwich Pen Women, a branch of the National League of American Pen Women, is a non-profit organization of women artists, writers, and musicians. We offer mutual support and exchange of ideas to encourage and inspire excellence in original creative work.
Butterfly by GPW Catherine Stahl
"Green was the silence, wet was the light, the month of June trembled like a butterfly."
~~ Pablo Neruda, “XL” from 100 Love Sonnets
Note from our President:
June, 2023
We have ended our fiscal year as of the last day of April even though our Annual Meeting took place on May 7th. The event was a vibrant, convivial reaffirmation of friendship and common interest in the arts and in individual accomplishments. I wish everyone could have been there! And the Potluck offerings were delicious! Here are a few remarks from me for those who couldn't make it:
"We come out of this year, following the effects of the pandemic, with the trying experience of attempting to meld Zoom and in-person within our critiques, with the need to further understand and use social media without becoming addicted to a screen - here I bow to Diane Morello - and knowing that Artificial Intelligence is trying to take over all our professions. Book clubs have grown and prospered over the pandemic but sales of books that are not classics, or not reviewed in the NY Times, are difficult to market without increased visibility. Art too has been impacted in that sales are less that they used to be when people felt more comfortable in gatherings. I was told at the meeting that for music too, attendance is down. In Pen Women, we are looking forward to welcoming new members but we are also losing members to illness, changing domiciles and states, and the desire to move from non-profit to a more commercial setting. However, our membership numbers have remained strong. We held five board meetings this year, some executive board, some the full board. A treasurer's report will be sent to all members. There are some exciting prospects for future events being discussed: a panel on self-publishing accompanied by a members' book sale, a tour of the WPA paintings of Norwalk, a fall walk in the neighborhood of Music in the Woods, an ekphrastic exhibit. We are always interested in more ideas."
The May 15th OPEN MIC NIGHT at the Greenwich Library main campus, a first for this event, ran like clockwork under the leadership of Diane Morello and Stasha Healy. Forty-eight people registered for the event and the crowd of presenters was as diverse as the presentations. Subject matter ranged from the psychological ramifications of motherhood following a donor egg implant to the significance of the words "In God We Trust" on the wall of a courtroom in a murder trial to a number of other subjects: love of peonies, dinners for a mom with memory loss, building Fort Apache to keep out the chipmunks, phone addiction, limits of drinking water for the world, climbing into a painting, travel, memoir of a mother's life, a singular daffodil, limericks and Zoom, a heart surgeon's view of love from the inside out, pontoon boat escape, trick or treat terrorist, the hard, abusive life of abuela, coming to America, lyrics for a song about avoiding abuse ("Stay near the door"), and more. It was an incredible, rewarding evening and I very much hope the first of many. Thank you, Greenwich Library, for hosting the event!
We thank Carolyn Majewski for adding one more month to a long history of service: fifteen years and 185 updates - and she was never late!
Joyce DiCamillo's trio has been booked to perform in the 37th Annual National Grid Jazz Fest in Syracuse, NY, New York's largest free Jazz Festival, June 21 - 25. Gladys Knight is a headliner along with Herbie Hancock. Contact Joyce for her scheduled performance info.
I hope that those members who have other June events will post them to the membership.
Upcoming Events : June 2023
- June 2 - Friday, Letters Critique, 10:30 to 12:30 pm
- June 14 - Poetry Meeting, 2:30 to 4:30 pm
Like the kids, we are now off for the summer. Enjoy that most wonderful season of the year!
Write, Paint, make Music!
Leigh
GPW President Leigh Grant
