*Must register in-person at the Olympia Senior Center*

For writers and would-be writers of fiction, memoir and essays. Expect to write at least seven pages a week.

This is a continuation of Beautiful Lies/Beautiful Truths 1. The focus of the class is increased involvement in student-to-student critiques, as well as explorations of points of view and metaphors.

Prerequisite: Beautiful Lies/Beautiful Truths I

Your Instructor: A local writer and actor, Keith holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College A former spokesperson for Thurston County and The Evergreen State College, Keith likes to write while listening to baseball on the radio. He’s honored to have had one of his short stories included in the 2017 O. Henry Award Stories. He also won the 2019 Mighty River Short Story Contest, held by Southeast Missouri University.  

                      “I write to discover what I know.”  Flannery O’Connor

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*Must register in-person at the Olympia Senior Center*

For writers and would-be writers of fiction, memoir and essays. Expect to write at least seven pages a week.

Improve your writing through short craft assignments, weekly “Wild Pages,” in-class exercises, and by critiques of your own work and work of fellow students. You’ll also be encouraged to participate in a public reading at the end of the quarter. Enrollment limited to 10. This class fills quickly! MUST REGISTER IN PERSON AT THE OLYMPIA SENIOR CENTER.

Your Instructor: A local writer and actor, Keith holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Goddard College A former spokesperson for Thurston County and The Evergreen State College, Keith likes to write while listening to baseball on the radio. He’s honored to have had one of his short stories included in the 2017 O. Henry Award Stories. He also won the 2019 Mighty River Short Story Contest, held by Southeast Missouri University.  

                      “I write to discover what I know.”  Flannery O’Connor

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This class helps you consider your life through the lens of creating a legacy for those who live after you. It fosters an appreciation of what you have already left for others and helps you create a legacy design for the year ahead. It helps you answer such questions as: Does anything I think or do matter? Where am I amid these times of uncertainty in our nation and world? How can I respond to what might occur in the coming year?

In 5 weeks of two classes a week, Marty will guide you through consideration of:

Legacies Left, Legacies Yet to Create and Grow

The ABCs for Focusing: On Your Own

Relationships Legacies: Patterns of Connection

Community Legacies: Uniting with Communities in Giving and Receiving

Making Meaning through Legacies Design amid the Shifting Sands of Time and Place

A flyer with more details can be found at the reception desks of both Lacey and Olympia senior Centers. You can also contact Marty at keysaging@gmail.com or at 206.915.6335

Your Instructor: Martha (Marty) Worcester is a Consultant for Aging with a rich background in Growth and Development in the decades of life after age 65. She works with individuals and groups to acquire information for meeting the challenges and finding enjoyment unique to each decade of late life. In her work she nurtures an appreciation of who you are and of all those on the journey with you as you create Late Life Designs.

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Are we headed for a civil war? How likely are some states to actually secede? Is the United States too big a political unit to manage the differences between all the regions of the country?

When we think of regional clashes in the United States, most of us think of the North vs the South. We might also think of the East Coast vs the West Coast. But these characterizations do not do justice to the diversity within each region. For example, you would have a fight on your hands if you said that the Mountain people of Tennessee and Kentucky were anything like the people from Alabama and Mississippi. On the other hand, in the northern regions the rivalry between the Yankees and the Red Sox goes a lot deeper than baseball.  

As we shall find out, the biggest differences between the regions in the United States have to do with the country, politics and class of the original settlers. How much might the climate and ecology of a region affect how that region feels about other regions? How might the major industries and occupations of a region affect how they perceive other regions? Quakers, Mormons, Unitarians and Catholics are very different religions. How will these differences play out in rivalries? How much, if at all, do the size of the region and the population density affect how cultures feel about each other? How might the differences in the acculturation process affect inter-regional perspectives?

Suggested Reading: Woodard, Colin (2012) American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America Penguin Books

Your Instructor: Bruce Lerro has been a night-school college teacher for 27 years. He has taught in alternative college settings, in prisons, the Air Force, Navy and community colleges in the San Francisco Bay Area. Bruce has written eight books, including three on the application of Russian Lev Vygotsky’s work on word history. He’s also a pen-and-ink- artist.

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Have you ever wanted to write your memoir or leave a legacy for your loved ones? This is your chance.

This eight-week course includes activities and resources to help you write, share and preserve your life stories. Each week you’ll receive prompting questions to write two-pages at home on a particular theme of your life history. You’ll bring your writing to class the following week to share with fellow storytellers, and receive encouraging feedback. Sharing life stories is an ideal way to find new meaning in life and put past events into perspective. No writing experience is necessary, just an openness to appreciate and share the unique life that is yours.

Enrollment is limited to 9 students, don’t miss out!

Your Instructor: Pam Toal is a published writer, coach, and certified Guided Autobiography facilitator. Her professional background in non-profits, higher education, and consulting led her to discover the rewards of writing and sharing life stories.

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When is the last time you played with Legos or fashioned something from Play-Doh?

These exercises will help you generate new material and embed solid skills as you revise and polish. If you are beginning to write, or have logged hundreds of hours in the chair, this class on craft will strengthen your voice and your own personal flavor. Working in class and on assignments, you will write three to five finished pages per week. Gentle feedback for one another will be part of our work. The final class is a Celebration Supper.

Your Instructor: Anne Hansen (formerly Mitchelson) was an elementary teacher for 37 years with North Thurston Public Schools, and her favorite subject to teach was writing. She was a Teaching Consultant for Puget Sound Writing Project, and founded Gadget Writing, a series of workshops for children and adults, hoping to reach and teach reluctant writers. She has taught writing classes in the Continuing Education Program at SPSCC, and at the Olympia Center. Anne studied under Roger Rosenblatt at Stonybrook University, Sheila Bender and Pam Houston at Centrum, Ramon Isao at Hugo House, Jim Lynch at St. Martin’s Creative Writing Institute, and has completed six quarters of Keith Eisner’s Beautiful Lies, Beautiful Truths. She writes creative nonfiction and short stories, and is working on a book about writing. Anne lives in Lacey with her husband David Hansen. She loves books and boats and bicycles, and has several quilts in progress at any given time in the sewing room.

B.A. in Education from Washington State University, 1972.

Master of Creative Arts from Lesley University, Cambridge, MA, 1991.

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This class offers an introduction to the fascinating world of astrology. You will learn the basic building blocks of astrology including birth chart layout, signs, planets, houses and phases of the moon.

We will explore the many ways that astrology is reflected in our own lives and the lives of those around us. Join us for lively and enlightening conversations about this beautiful, ancient,

mystical art and science.

Please bring a copy of your birth chart using the whole sign house system if you can.

Your Instructor: Maia O’Brien is an Integrative Physical Therapist and a Dance/ Movement Therapist. She uses the Creative Arts Therapies and astrology to help people enrich our lives to connect with the world around us. Contact Maia for private/ group lessons or consultations at 360.773.6807

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All levels are welcome to join another invigorating workshop for the mind! In this three-part series we’ll dive into the study of our individual, social and “extrapersonal” integration systems and learn mindfulness skills to help us reach optimal wellness.  

The fall course will address the neurobiological “dis-integration” we often experience from the force-push-rush and distractions of modern living (ever feel like you’re “all in your head,” fractured, out of sorts, tired but unable to sleep, “not yourself,” etc.?) and offer strategies for bringing our thoughts, feelings and bodies into a healthy working relationship. Borrowing from studies in neuroscience, psychology and mindfulness, we’ll learn how to coach our brains into a functional integration that supports not only our physical health, but also our focus, creativity and sense of joyful purpose. Expect lively discussions, occasional theater games and community-building in addition to our weekly guided meditations.

Your Instructor: Margo Benedetto is a certified mindfulness instructor and veteran classroom teacher in Washington State. She was a leader in bringing mindfulness education to Centralia School District from 2015-2020 and continues to provide personal and professional development on mindfulness for individuals and groups.She enjoys the variety of classroom setting she finds for her work, including Thurston County Dog 4-H, Olympia Senior Services and North Thurston Public Schools.

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Have you ever wanted to know more about the ancient world that inspired the design of our Washington State Capitol, the institution of the Senate, Shakespeare’s Roman plays, or even modern engineering innovations?

This six-week class will explore Italy from roughly 1000 BC to 500 AD. It will look at questions such as: Who were the “mysterious” Etruscans and their necropoli, cities of the dead? Why did the Greeks “colonize” south Italy and Sicily? How did the city of Rome turn from a small settlement on the Tibur River to the ruler of the ancient world? We will explore archaeological remains, selections from ancient literature and philosophy, and modern scholarship all within the context of social, political, and cultural history. As a class we will try to better understand how these civilizations have influenced our modern world, for better or worse.

Your Instructor: Tony Usibelli is an avid student of the ancient world and has a B.A. in classical archaeology and art history from the Univ. of Missouri and the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies in Rome. He is an active member of the Puget Sound chapter of the Archaeological Institute of America, the Puget Sound Ancient Numismatic group and has taught classes at Evergreen and SPSCC. Tony has taught Ancient Italy since Fall 2022 and Ancient Greece since Spring 2024 through the Senior Academy.

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Embark on a transformative six-week journey into the vibrant cultures and enduring legacy of North American Natives.

This Northwest Nations course study delves into enriching stories, standing on the shoulders of ancestral wisdom, from their pre-colonial harmony with nature to the challenges faced in the modern world. Through storyworks and storytelling, we’ll examine the origins, nations, and traditions of the remarkable North American Peoples. We’ll gain a regenerative understanding of their ancestral wisdom, their connection to the land, their unique contributions to society, and their ongoing fight for recognition and justice. This memorable journey will challenge stereotypes, foster empathy, and leave you inspired to participate in building a more inclusive future.

Your Instructor: Professor Ron Johnson is an enrolled member of the Makah Nation in Neah Bay.  His mother Julie is an enrolled member of the Lummi Nation. Ron has worked in a variety of natural resource fields, has three beautiful children, and is currently pursuing his Doctorate degree.  Ron Johnson has taught courses at The Evergreen State College and currently teaches at Northwest Indian College.

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This class aims to prepare you to write that long-delayed novel using the National Novel Writing Month strategy of writing fast and non-critically for 30 days, after which you have a first draft. But to be ready for fast writing, it’s critical to have a feeling for your characters, your story and your point of view, and that’s what this class is about: getting ready.

We’ll focus on exploring these components of your novel, so that you can feel ready to start the NaNoWriMo experience in the official month of November, if you choose. (Hint: you can do this process in any 30-day period.) To prepare for fast writing, we’ll be doing fast writing in class. That is, you will be encouraged to write quickly and non-critically in response to prompts that aim to help you go deeper into your characters and story. We’ll also spend class time sharing some of what we write with each other, on a volunteer basis.

Class members who at the end of October are ready to dive in to NaNoWriMo (https://nanowrimo.org) will be invited to join a weekly support group for those taking part – I’ll be doing NaNoWriMo, for my fifth time! I hope you join me!

Your Instructor: Diane Chiddister began her first novel at age 69, and finished it two years later. The novel, “One More Day,” won the grand prize ($8,000) of the North Street Book Prize in 2023, and was a runner-up for the First Novel award of the Next Generation Book Award that year. She’s gone on to write her second novel, and is beginning her third. Fiction writing is Diane’s first love in writing, and the reason she received an MFA from the University of Iowa Writer’s Workshop in 1981. However, she then veered into journalism and spent her working career as a journalist. After retiring, she finally had time to begin her first novel. She finds the process of novel writing to be mysterious, compelling, frustrating, and, very occasionally, thrilling. She loves to share what she’s learned with other writers, and also to learn from them.

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The Creative Arts Therapies use expressive art processes to enhance self-awareness and cultivate improved quality of life. Stress and trauma create tension in the body that can be released through healthy self-expression and communication. Developing a more creative life can help us connect with our inner source of health and well-being.

We will start each session with movement warm-up and then weave together participatory experiences in movement, music, drama, visual arts, and creative writing each week to explore how the arts can help us tune in to our inner thoughts, feelings and behavior in everyday life. As we gain a deeper understanding of our inner life we can enhance our physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual wellbeing to improve communication and relationships with self and others. This not a therapy group but each session will involve interactions and collaborations that offer ample space and time to explore new ideas in a safe environment.

Body, mind and spirit integration through the arts can lead us to new options and possibilities. Learn to use creativity to discover your hidden talents and strengths and develop healthier lifestyle skills. Try something new in a non-competitive, non-judgmental and supportive atmosphere where your curiosity can lead you to surprising new opportunities!

Your Instructor: Maia O’Brien is an Integrative Physical Therapist and a Dance/ Movement Therapist who uses the Creative Arts Therapies and Astrology to help people develop greater insight and compassion for self and others. Her focus is on promoting healthy communities through creative integration of educational, health/wellness and artistic practices.

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Culinary medicine aims to assist people reach positive medical decisions about eating high-quality meals and help prevent and/or treat diseases and restore well-being. These sessions are designed to ramp up the nutritional values of your breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks. You will gain useful information so your choices at the grocery store are wiser and healthier. Eating with a budget and good taste in mind are both possible. Find out if you are eating adequate amounts of nutrients, both large and small. There will be recipes you can later make in the comfort of your own kitchen. Each class will focus on one of the four topics: breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.

Your Instructor: Mary Ellen Psaltis, BPh, is a Certified Nutrition and Wellness Consultant and Senior Nutrition Specialist. She believes food is a foundation for well-being and has been published regularly for over 25 years on topics around lifestyle choices and food. Mary Ellen is also a speaker who provides nutrition education to dental professionals around the US and Canada. Her personal food path over the years has evolved with education, age and the desire to keep her body, brain and whole self in optimal shape. She loves to accompany and encourage others along their personal journeys.

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