Paper Airplanes GISS Writers` Group Anthology 2014 ISBN 978-0-9684619-4-5 PAPER AIRPLANES 2014 TIGEROWL PUBLICATIONS In association with BUTTERFLY PRESS Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs CC BY-NC-ND All works are under copyright. They may not be built upon, changed or sold by anyone but their respective owners. Any usage of the works within this book must be non- commercial and credited to its respective author. "Blindness", "Dreaming", "Travelling" ” © Sam Barlow "Burnout", "Remember" © Annika Berendt "Gears of the Universe", "Brave Face" © Emma Bishop "Awkward", "Falling Awake" © Lorence Bryans "One Way", "Dreams From There to Here", "Broken Glass", "Kaleidoscope" ” © Sarah Hook Nilsson "Synesthesia", "The Value of School" © Lucy von Kirschbaum "My Ensemble", "Aus dem Dschungel/Beyond The Jungle" ” © Antonia Klier "Leaves", "Capes" © Sarah Kyle "Confessions of an Addict" © Maja Nordine "Ground Petaled Yellow", "Dream Friend" ” © Elia Pittas "Lassitude", "Respirator", "Fickle Prick" ” © Tahani Peters "Stroll", "Panther", "Like an Addict", "Heroin" © Heather Reynolds "As I Change", "To the River" © Finian Rice "My Story as a Writer", "Wheels of Change", "The Sidewalk" © Ahava Shira "Cry", "Doing a Better World" © Andrea Vriesen Images fall under the same copyright. "Paper Airplane“ © Tahani Peters "Mandela" © Finian Rice "Feet" (Series of 4), "Treeline" © Sarah Kyle Dedication For all of us who walk this path together: Who am I but feet to walk me From one end of the earth to the other… - Heather Reynolds Paper Airplanes Table of Contents Introduction····································································································· 3 The Writers ····································································································· 7 Approaching Take-Off ·········································································· 13 Why I Write ································································································· 17 Where Does Your Story Begin? ························································· 21 Change ··········································································································· 27 What is Light? ··························································································· 35 Word of the Day ························································································ 39 And if You’re Still Breathing ································································ 45 What Would We Do Without Education ····································· 51 What is it Like, Being All That is? ···················································· 55 I’m Dreaming of ························································································ 61 Anything That Mends is but Patched ············································· 69 Aerial Exploration ···················································································· 83 Final Approach ························································································ 109 Landing Zone ··························································································· 115 1 GISS Writers’ Group 2 Paper Airplanes Introduction Welcome to Paper Airplanes, the second anthology of the intergenerational writers’ group and the culmination of Finding Our Voices, a project funded by Artstarts, BC Arts Council, the province of BC and SD 64. Paper airplanes are handmade objects that ignite our imagination and playfulness. Although we can never forsee the trajectory of their flight, nor the destination of their landing, we are ever eager to create them, send them out into the world and see what happens next. Just as we do each week in the writers’ group. Each time we write, we take off from a certain prompt, whether a quote, poem, story, “word of the day,” world event or other provocation. We never know where the inspiration will lead us. As we listen with curiosity to the journey we each have 3 GISS Writers’ Group taken, we are inevitably emboldened to create and launch another one. A paper airplane’s flight may be ephemeral, however, they can captivate our attention for hours. Their designs are pervasive, and not only meant for the young. As you will read here, people of all ages are capable of “taking to the air” and expressing themselves with words. So how did we do it? We created a caring, non-judgmental environment using the four practices of Writing Alone Together: Writing Freely, Reading Aloud, Listening Deeply and Bearing Witness* Week after week**, we boldly and courageously found our voices on many topics: home, nature, family, cultural legacies, relationships, memories, dreams, joys, fears, how we hide, what we wish for. Having the space, time and support of regularly scheduled meetings was as important to our process as was listening and being exposed to the diversity of written and verbal expressions of the group. Our mixed generations and genders also offered abundant opportunity for reaching past each of our own limited experiences to discover 4 Paper Airplanes what life is like, and how the world looks and feels to someone else. Lastly, and just as significantly, attendance at the writers’ group was always voluntary. We are excited to share our words with you here. Sit back, relax and enjoy the flight! - Ahava Shira ______ *Writing Alone Together: Journalling in a Circle of Women for Creativity, Compassion and Connection. Wendy Judith Cutler, Lynda Monk and Ahava Shira. Salt Spring Island: Butterfly Press, 2014. **From October to December 2013, we met biweekly. From January to May 2014 the meetings switched to weekly with the support of a grant from Artstarts Artist in the Classroom, the BC Arts Council and SD 64. 5 GISS Writers’ Group 6