Write Speak Play with Nanci Arvizu

For the full, written version of this Garden Variety Newsletter, please visit The Garden of Neuro publication on Medium.com

Mary Elizabeth Pratt joins me to share the Trial outcome for the Military man who abused her. 

Mary Elizabeth was denied the opportunity to face her abuser in court, to read her Victim Statement, and in the end, her abuse claims were not taken into account during the trial, nor sentencing.

This is her story, so far. At the end of this episode, you'll hear how she continues to grow, and heal. 

Listen to this episode to hear Mary Elizabeth read her Victim Impact statement

In this episode:

The Garden Variety Newsletter, V1, I3, December 6, 2021

Links to 

Safe and Brave Space Anthology

2022 Calls for Submissions

Book Clubs

HIgh Vibe Astrology with Jennifer Gehl

Blogging For Success Course

Kitchen Table Talks

The Garden of Neuro 

In this episode I share Part one of a five-part series: 

First Days of A Five-Week Journey - https://medium.com/write-speak-play/first-days-of-a-five-week-journey-538cfd570e87?sk=bf1dfa42c6ca6cc981308e1c5a94824d

Poetry from the recently published anthology, A Safe and Brave Space from Garden of Neuro Publishing. Poetry is read by the authors.

Vol 1, Issue 1 of Garden Variety, a weekly newsletter hosted on the Garden of Neuro publication on Medium

I had the honor of reviewing "Kaleidoscope, An Asian Journey of Colors," by Sweta Vikram in 2011 on Page Readers, my podcast way back when. 

I was thrilled when she reached out to share her latest work, Piece of Peace, an autobiographical account of one woman’s unique struggle with a near-fatal disease in a collection of essays.

We jumped into the conversation about the importance of our stories, the healing power of writing and poetry, and her work with sexual abuse and assault survivors, and the importance of the words we chose to support, uplift, and create the connections we all need no matter our journey.

Sweta covers a couple of topics, but what we circle back to is how important it is that we are true to ourselves and to our stories. 

Visit Sweta Vikram online

If you're interested in participating in a women's only poetry group, visit the Garden of Neuro poetry circle here.

In this episode of Write Speak Play:

Book Review by Nanci Arvizu: Nooh Finds His Lost Whisker by Shalu Bajaj Ahuja.

POETRY MIC DROP: The Ink Well, read by the author, Lisa Tomey, Prolific Prose Press

Music: Whispering Dream. Written and performed by Jennifer Gehl. Soundworks by Jennifer Gehl

"What Lies Ahead," poetry by Nanci Arvizu, spoken by the author.

Words Into Wool, by Nanci Arvizu

This poem was created in response to a Garden of Neuro Poetry Circle Prompt, hosted by Lisa Tomey.

The Garden of Neuro is free to join 🌱

Use this link to visit the Garden of Neuro Poetry Circle

"If God were to pray over you, what would She say?"

This is just one of the many memorable lines contained between the beautiful covers of Carla Cherry's latest book of words "Stardust and Skin."

In this episode of Write Speak Play, I turn the mic over to the Garden of Neuro Poetry Book Club Meeting from July 7, 2021. Our group discussed the book, sharing our favorite lines and what the words brought up for us as we answered questions presented by the author. 

Carla also gave us a 10-minute poetry writing exercise, to create a poem from a favorite line from one of her poems. The poetry and prose that flowed were uplifting and positively joyful.

Find Stardust and Skin here and on Amazon here. It's also available as an ebook (Kindle) for free. (Which is fine, but you'll want the printed copy for the art!)

On a personal level, this introduction to poetry by the Garden of Neuro's Poetry Circle Leaders, Lisa Tomey, has opened my eyes to poetry in a whole new way. I've enjoyed our monthly Mic Drops and First Wednesday's Poetry Book Club gatherings tremendously, even though we've had just a few events. I hope that as we return to lives that take us away from being inside and in front of a computer so much, that this virtual space will remain active in connecting us from all different places around the world. 

Visit the Garden of Neuro Poetry Circle here

Our words are powerful. We need to learn how to use them to make the world a better place for everyone, not just some.

Links to things I talk about in this episode:

YouTube Video - Why Gender Equality is Good For Everyone - Men Included.

Abortion Avoidance through Science, Education, Access, and Accountability.

A Work in Progress: Changing Education, and The World, With A Garden.

Or how about adding your voice to this qualitative research project, Red Flags or Flowers, 10 Questions are the beginning of a journey for those needing to find a way to their truth.