Photoessay #1286 - A reading?

Part of the year end activities for my memoir writing certificate program includes a reading of our work at the University Book Store on May 31. We have to have a piece we can read in 5 minutes. There's also another reading event for the all of writing programs later in June.

Aaack aaack, I do NOT want to chicken out so I have to come up with something. I have worked on my winter workshop piece incorporating all of the suggestions (took me two days to do it!). I could read part of that but I've been warned not to read anything too emotional because you don't want to cry in the middle of the reading. Since that piece concerns my mom's death (as well as the winter olympics), maybe it wouldn't be a great choice though I think I could pull it off.

Since the middle of the year, I've been writing about Parent Group topics. I had started out writing about UCSC in the 1970s. But early on, we learned that everything we include must advance the story. And what exactly IS the story? I asked myself. Since i couldn't answer that question, I abandoned that idea.

Though I haven't tackled all of the suggestions for my spring quarter piece, it's a possibility. It's about using Parent Group Techniques dealing with a cake for a fundraising auction. Right now I'm working on our Tryptich piece due a week from Tuesday. The idea is to write about three different aspects of a single topic and theme and then weave them together.

So, it's still up in the air what I'll read. But I'm working on it, I'm really working on it.

Picture is Ilana reading at the Tatoo Coffeehouse at Shorecrest High School in 2004. Yikes, that's 7 years ago!