“For, while the tale of how we suffer, and how we are delighted, and how we may triumph is never new, it always must be heard. There isn’t any other tale to tell, it’s the only light we’ve got in all this darkness.”
—James Baldwin
If you practice writing, medicine, psychology, or simply being a human being, this workshop will offer a generous and wise window into your life, your relationships, and your work.
Dan Gottlieb writes memoir and personal essay, but even more, he is a teacher of life who walks the walk—metaphorically speaking, since he’s quadriplegic as a result of an auto accident when he was a young man. Dan is a psychotherapist with a practice in Philadelphia; he has a weekly talk show on WHYY radio, “Voices in the Family,” and has written for for the Philadelphia Inquirer. He’s lectured all over the world and combines wisdom with humility and a deliciously dry humor.
Dan will talk about his life’s story and how he has incorporated his experience into his writing over the decades, while Ellen will talk about the craft. Ellen and Dan will do a writing exercise together and participants will have a chance to read to the group and receive responses. You’ll learn about writing poetry, personal essay, memoir, and inspirational writing, but more than that, you’ll learn something memorable about courage, authenticity, and what it means to be humans together during our short visit to this planet.
Registration and Fees: The workshop will be held from 9:30am to 4 p.m. on March 28, 2014 at Dan Gottlieb’s home. Reservations are available on a first-come, first-served basis. The cost of registration is $195. To register, please email Jen Petras at jpeachtree@yahoo.com.
An Evening with Dan Gottlieb and Ellen Bass
at Barnes & Noble, 18th and Walnut Streets, Philadelphia
On March 31 at 6:30 p.m., Dan and Ellen will read from their new books, The Wisdom We’re Born With and Like a Beggar, and will share personally about their books and lives.
ELLEN BASS has a new poetry book Like a Beggar, forthcoming from Copper Canyon in 2014. Her previous books are The Human Line, which was named a Notable Book by the San Francisco Chronicle, and Mules of Love, which won the Lambda Literary Award. She co-edited (with Florence Howe) the groundbreaking No More Masks! An Anthology of Poems by Women. Her work has been published in The New Yorker, The American Poetry Review, The New Republic, The Progressive, The Kenyon Review, Ploughshares, The Sun and many other journals. Among her awards for poetry are a Pushcart Prize, the Elliston Book Award, the Pablo Neruda Prize from Nimrod/Hardman, the Larry Levis Prize from Missouri Review, and the New Letters Prize. She is core faculty of the MFA writing program at Pacific University. ellenbass.com
DAN GOTTLIEB is the host of “Voices in the Family,” an award-winning mental health call-in radio show aired on WHYY 90.9 FM, Philadelphia’s local public radio station. For 15 years, he wrote a highly regarded column for the Philadelphia Inquirer titled: “Inside Out,” on the intersection of the events in our world and the events in our minds and hearts. He has also published four books, including the international bestseller Letters to Sam: A Grandfather’s Lessons on Love, Loss, and the Gifts of Life. His forthcoming book, The Wisdom We’re Born With, will be released in March 2014. All of his royalties will be donated to the Khulani school for disabled children in South Africa. In addition to his writing and radio show, he lectures locally and nationally on a variety of topics affecting the well-being of people, families and the larger community. drdangottlieb.com
drdangottlieb1946@gmail.com