As we at Lifetime Arts always note, no two Creative Aging programs are the same. They are shaped by the teaching artists, the participants, and the venue. This past year, our initiative, Creative Aging in Westchester County, supported by the Westchester Community Foundation, resulted in five new programs including two that focused on memoir writing. Both were successful as they served the participants’ needs for creative expression and reflected the communities in which they were set. Both surprised me with their depth, complexity and by the diversity of the participants and the stories they shared.
The Mt. Kisco Senior Recreation’s memoir program, “Life Stories Writing Workshop,” was led by an excellent literary teaching artist, Cindy Beer-Fouhy. Cindy is on our Creative Aging Roster and has considerable experience in leading writing programs throughout the Hudson Valley.
With the goals of imparting fundamental creative writing techniques designed to help participants explore personal stories through writing prompts which stimulate memories, Cindy’s curriculum employed thought-provoking readings, group discussions, and various writing activities. Participants learned to use sensory details to evoke emotion in writing; write descriptively about place; develop individual style; and polish a written piece through revising and rewriting. In addition, the workshop series was designed to have every participant’s voice and experience heard and validated in a nurturing, empowering, and nonjudgmental environment.
The biggest misconception I had about this program is that I assumed it would wind up serving a demographically homogeneous population of affluent white older adults. I could not have been more wrong.
The culminating event was striking to me for two reasons. When I arrived, the room was packed. There were literally no seats left. This is highly unusual for a mid-day/mid-week culminating event. The other thing I found fascinating was, as I listened to the participants’ stories, I started to note their countries of origin (very relevant, as many of their stories began in their youth outside the U.S.). There were no fewer than eight countries represented. It was an incredibly diverse group of people with stories ranging from the harrowing (living through the A-Bomb) to the romantic (the rocky journey to true love).
Very different, but just as fascinating, was the “WriteOut!” Program at The LOFT LGBT Community Center. The LOFT is the longest standing organization in Westchester serving LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, asexual, non-binary, pansexual, etc.) people of all ages. “WriteOut!” was designed to teach participants how to reflect, process, and write a memoir about experiences related to the LGBT community. The teaching artist, Steven Shaw, is a full-time instructor at SUNY Orange County Community College. Steve focused the class on exploring many facets of memoir writing and what it means to have “creative license” when telling one’s story. Workshops and one-on-one sessions were supplemented by assigned readings from authors such as James Baldwin, David Sedaris, and Alison Bechdel. The tangible outcome for this workshop was the production of a journal titled, “Fingerprints.”
The WriteOut! culminating event was held at The LOFT’s offices in White Plains on a Saturday evening at 6 pm during the summer. I thought this was an odd time and at about ten minutes before the event began, only a handful of people were there. But in the next five minutes, a crowd of 35 people streamed through the door and gathered to hear the 55+ LGBT community tell stories of their challenges, their joys, and finding their individual voices.
We’re used to hearing coming out stories from young people, but hearing these stories told from the point of view of someone who came out in their 60s is doubly poignant. The Q&A session that followed led to many in the audience regretting that they hadn’t taken this class and would be sure to do so should the opportunity arise. This sparked the Executive Director of The LOFT, Judy Troilo, to proclaim her commitment to continue this program. And therein lies our goal for all the programs Lifetime Arts generates; for the institution to see their value and to continue it as an ongoing program offering.
Lifetime Arts proudly supports Creative Aging programming that addresses the needs and interests of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Art Forms
Autobiography/Memoir, Literary Arts