ANITA PRATAP
On a pleasant September 2003 evening, 35 people gathered in the auditorium of the Nashua Public Library for what turned out to be a highly engaging evening of comments on world situations from Sri Lanka to Kandahar with international journalist Anita Pratap. The audience heard Ms. Pratap tell of her own harrowing experiences covering stories of revolutionaries, the Taliban, jungle escapes-
Suddenly the bushes and the trees stirred and within a few minutes, the place was crawling with about fifty camouflaged LTTE guerrillas. They rose from the ground wriggled out from behind bushes and loped down the trees. It was stunning. Their camouflage was so brilliant it would have fooled even a trained eye on the lookout for them &The leader who had shouted at me walked up slowly. He avoided the road, walking instead along the grassy edge. He stopped about ten feed away from me. He looked at me closely, then bent down and picked up one end of the string that lay stretched across the road. 'This road is mined. If you hadn't stopped, your car would have blown up' he said. Yet another narrow shave in Sri Lanka. (Island of Blood, p.132-33).
She talked about a time when she had to wear a burka and to have her camera crew ready to shoot (film) and run at a seconds notice because women weren't supposed to be working in Afghanistan under Taliban rule, and how experience helps you know when to leave a battle scene and not to risk your own life for one more minute of front-line coverage. These and many other stories have helped make her one of India's most well-known and respected journalists. Formerly CNN bureau chief in Delhi, Ms. Pratap now works independently and files stories from her new home in Saudi Arabia, where she lives with her diplomat husband. One audience member entered the room and said he was very anxious to meet Anita Pratap in person, as he had spent many years watching her on television when he lived and worked in Asia. Now living in Nashua, having her give a talk here was quite a surprise and a pleasure that reminded him of another time and place.New Hampshire audiences will most likely have another chance to hear Ms. Pratap talk next year because she promises to return for a visit when the opportunity presents itself. In the meantime, people can access information and read some of her recent columns by visiting her website or through Outlook India.
Ms. Pratap's personal memoir, Island of Blood, is available from Penguin Putnam and she is currently working on her next book.
Writing at the Wentworth
Writing at the Wentworth, the first retreat primarily for teachers, although all persons interested in working on their writing were welcome to attend, was a great success for the Northeast Cultural Coop, and brought together 41 writers at the beautifully restored Wentworth by the Sea in Newcastle, NH. for 2 Ω days of writing, sharing, reflecting, and conversation. Although this retreat allowed for time to meet other teachers and writers and to share experiences from the classroom, it also allowed teachers time to work on their own writing in response to prompts from professional writers who were available to guide them and to offer feedback on their work. One group, under the direction of Melanie Gallo, focused primarily on techniques for teaching writing and reported that they received extremely valuable exercises and ideas they could take back to their classrooms to help guide the work of their own students. Teachers know that the techniques they need to teach writing are honed through doing writing of their own and under state guidelines for being a Highly Qualified Teacher, showing evidence of personal writing samples is one of the pieces of evidence teachers are asked to show in their portfolios. This retreat will continue to offer teachers the opportunity to meet this goal, while helping them learn new ways to teach writing from writing professionals.
Hanover poet, Cynthia Huntington, led a series of sessions on writing poetry; novelists Sara Backer (American Fuji) and Art Corriveau (Houswrights)led sessions on fiction and non-fiction writing, and, teachers could be seen all weekend long sitting in comfortable chairs with their pads and pens or laptops working away.
The only thing that put a damper on the retreat was the weather- the first nor'easter of the season hit the coast late Friday night and into Saturday. Luckily, the retreat was scheduled to end after lunch on Saturday and the hotel provided box lunches for writers to take in their cars to enjoy on their "white-knuckle" drives home. The experience of getting home safely might prompt one of these teachers to write a story about the typical New Hampshire winter.
Next year, we hope for nicer weather and even more nice people. The Wentworth hotel and spa is the perfect place for writing and getting in touch with one's creative self. And, once the muse has been satisfied with a few pages of writing, one can head for the pool or hot tub for additional inspiration for a story or poem to be written after wrapping oneself up in his or her white, terrycloth robe, compliments of the hotel.
Not too shabby. And, knowing the techniques for teaching writing are in the state frameworks for language arts teachers makes this "working" retreat a welcome change of pace in a busy semester. The retreat gave certificates for contact hours, but also qualified for 2 graduate credits in the Teaching of Writing. This retreat is NCC's teacher-friendly answer to No Child Left Behind. We hope to see you there next year!