| O's
Own Writers' Group
O's Own stands for the Okanagan's Own Writers' Network.
O's Own meets twice a month at 10:00am on the first
Wednesday of the month and at 7:30 pm on the second
Thursday of the month in the meeting room above the
Osoyoos Art Gallery on Main Street, Osoyoos. We welcome
writers, or people who would like to begin writing, of all
ages.
The group explores ideas
together to facilitate writing. For instance we have
recently discussed the reasons for regret and no regret.
We listened to music that had regret as a theme including
Ella Fitzgerald's 'Miss Otis Regrets" and Joni
Mitchell's "River".
We often incorporate a 20
minute writing exercise during our meetings in which
we respond to a writing prompt that a member has selected.
We challenge each other, on occasion. "Write the
lyrics for the hurt'nest country song you can
imagine." We share writing continually and have
developed a critiquing protocol that has worked very well
with the group.
O's Own encourages it's
members to attend writing seminars and has recently
participated in an 8 week Short Story Writing Course.
Okanagan College arranged for Adam Schroeder,
author of " Empress of Asia", to
deliver the course to us in Osoyoos. As a result of
Adam's excellent teaching skills, O's Own is well on its
way to publishing its second collection of writing,
"Whispering Down the Well", to follow our
first book, "Sharing the Well".
O's Own organized a
Word Fest to usher in "Sharing the Well", its
writers have written for area newspapers on occasion,
they take their work to local schools to share and are
available to the community for special events where
stories or poetry might add to the celebration.
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| Excerpts from the
second book O's Own will be publishing in 2009:
Granny Drivers
By Jody Chadderton
When I think of Granny drivers
I think of Grandma’s blue Buick
power everything
long before dreams
of power anything:
windows, locks, seats,
plus tilt, cruise
and a gizmo on the speedometer
that lets you know if you speed.
Let's say the speed limit is 60
(before they invented km/h)
you set it for 65,
when you reach 65 it screeches,
really Loud Horrible Noise
so you set it at 70.
After all, you have to speed to pass.
One thing Grandma didn’t have
was air conditioning,
unnecessary extravagance in New Westminster, no doubt.
But Fraser Canyon in mid-July
counting tunnels: Alexandra, Saddle Rock, China Bar,
seven in all.
Windows open for the breeze,
blue chiffon scarf
draped over left shoulder
for sunshade.
Whoosh! Gone.
Gram does a brief shoulder check,
says “Oh, dear,”
and powers on. . .
Ripe
Old Age
by Sue Whittaker
She
twists in front of the mirror
viewing her right hip, her left hip,
front and back.
The roundness, the rumpy-ness,
astounds her once again.
No amount of sacrifice, self-denial or deprivation
has subdued her tendency
toward the voluptuous.
She can be genetically traced, she groans,
to a
Bartlett
, an
Anjou
or a roly-poly little Bosc.
Oh well, perhaps she will live to
a ripe old age.
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