A beautiful thing about The Stafford Challenge is the monthly writing workshops that are part of the program. Last night, I got to attend one with C. Marie Furhman as the leader, and she shared some of the craft moves used by Joy Harjo as part of the workshop she led.
We wrote a letter to a living being that has made a difference in our lives (i.e. my new rescue Schnauzer, Jay), and then listed 15 beings that were random, with their actions (i.e. a scared bunny that crosses the driveway and darts into the woods to avoid the circling hawks). Then, we changed the Dear in the letter to the word Remember, used repetition, and brought in the parallels to the random beings. The idea behind this craft move is to give universality to specificity. Here is what I wrote:
To Jay
Remember, people just suck sometimes.
Remember, you were giving the big dogs hell, charging the fence at the dog park when I first met you.
Would you do this to the coyote who prowls the farm?
Remember, the people who surrendered you had their own challenges.
I’m glad we found each other.
Remember, you came home and licked my hand, flitting about the yard
with the butterfly on the hummingbird feeder, wallowing in the grass on
your back.
And now, you breathe in deep sleep next to me,
unlike the scared bunny crossing the driveway.
You’re safe now,
no longer vulnerable.
You belong with me.
You can still sign up for the Poetry As a Healing Art series, even if you are not part of The Stafford Challenge 2026 Cohort. These are free, but each of the 3 sessions requires its own registration.
I love how this prompt worked for your letter to Jay. Sweet memories already and such a safe and happy home. Thanks for sharing about the workshop.
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If you register, will you get a recording of the workshop? It’s probable that I cannot make it in real time.
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