Starting June 11: “Write What You Don’t Know” guided Zoom course
It’s not often you find the perfect man - but here he is! James Navé, in person, to guide you through the 11 sessions of “Write What You Don’t Know.” As well as facilitating the sessions, he’ll be available during the week for support. The sessions will be recorded and shared privately to the group, so if you can’t make a Tuesday you can catch up in your own time.
June 11 through August 20: Tuesdays, 3–5:30 pm PT / 6–8:30 pm ET.
Limited to 14 people! Grab your space now!
Click here for more details and to register.
Next year’s Writing Transformation in Taos
We’ve just booked the dates with Hacienda del Sol: April 20–24, 2025. You can read about this year’s workshop here. Let us know if you’re interested in coming; we’d be happy to save you a space. It’s already half sold out!
Meanwhile . . .
Join us today for the Prompt of the Week at 9 am PT / noon ET - and if you know someone who would enjoy writing with us, go ahead and share this email. Also, please spread the word about our new Prompt of the Week session on Thursdays, 3 pm PT / 6 pm ET. Same prompt as Saturday but a different group list (obviously!), and we’re finding we’re writing something very very different! The Zoom link for that is in the Wednesday/Thursday Substack newsletter.
Last week’s Exquisite Storm: “The Wind Sucked Out of You”
An Exquisite Corpse (so named by the Surrealists) is a “found poem” made up of disconnected parts, but we prefer to call it the Exquisite Storm. Each writer in our Saturday Imaginative Storm writing group offered one line from the 10-minute piece they generated. Last week we were inspired by a photo of San Onofre Nuclear Generating Plant.
The title comes from the first line, spoken by Doug Raphael. If you’d like to hear it read aloud by the writers, click through to YouTube.
It was like having the wind sucked out of you. He could coexist with the world as long as he did not look toward the horizon— her seismic, roaming heart. This holiday is driven by pollution. Whoever designed this area must have been unaware of the threat this plant brings. What can we do about it now? She wrapped the umbrellas around her to cover her soul. This juxtaposition of nature and destructive technology is killing the planet and all of us along with it. Dang, those Australians. Fragile coexistence. There are bikinis on Mars and multiple Raquel Welch wannabes. Kaboom. Kaboom. Kaboom! Like methane farts dotted the shoreline and the nuclear waves dyed t the sand dirty brown. Now no lifeguard on duty to rescue us from the nuclear waves. we breathe, we build without concern, unintended consequences hide for years, The day and pure ecstasy. Someday the beauty will be born again. Waves of innocence crashing on the shores of power. Looking over my sink with star focus. Let's lie on a beach towel and forget the thrill of nature. My wife Kaboom is a dullard, a traitor to her name. I am now an electrified surfer. Nipples on top of tanks as if they contained colostrum to nourish the newborn. Didn't your mother teach you to clean up after yourself? The Oceanside Nuclear Power Plant beckoned me to swim in his death-defying waves. I watched my feet disappear. My children collected shells and paddled in the nuclear waves— no lifeguards back then. I'm the one in the blue striped muumuu and orange lipstick. Point your eyes skyward from the brown-beaten sand. Hellfire cannot be contained. How fortunate I thought that Gen-X got us all into texting.
ORDER OF SPEAKERS
Doug Raphael, June Kinoshita, Bee Fortin, Kelsey Walters, Jane Goldberg, Kyra Strasberg, Glenna Tinney, Allegra Huston, Venessa Villafane, Genevia Hendry, Arlene Shapiro, Regina Ress, Andrea Young, Kathleen A. Wilson, Andrew Smith, Susie Shipman, Zebith Thalden, Marguerite Buckman Kearns, Diana Leszczynski, Krista Thornburg, Shirley Loeb, Jocelyn Wasson, Linda Smith, Barbara Benedict, Lyn Rothman, Julie Grass, James Navé, Lou Faber, Elaine Heveron
This week’s Imaginative Storm podcast
This week, Navé talks with radio host P J Ewing.
I first met PJ in 1996 during a branding summit at Leo Burnett Advertising, where he impressed everyone with his innovative ideas and infectious enthusiasm. Over the years, I've enjoyed visiting PJ in his New York City home, witnessing firsthand his profound appreciation for culture and art. PJ is a true Renaissance man with a passion for all things beautiful. In recent years, PJ has channeled his creativity into his radio show, "Lester the Night Fly," inspired by the Steely Dan song of the same name. This show airs nationwide on various community and public radio stations. In this interview, PJ and I delve into the art of producing a radio show and the importance of loving the medium. PJ's captivating on-air presence, combined with his exceptional marketing acumen, has always amazed me. His show is a must-listen for anyone interested in art, culture, and radio production. Enjoy the show.
If you’d like to make a contribution . . .
. . . to keep the Imaginative Storm Prompt of the Week going, you can find our “tip jar” in the footer at imaginativestorm.com. If you already support us, thank you!