Mary Pierce Brosmer is a poet, teacher, mother, grandmother and a visionary for saner communities and organizations. After receiving an English degree, she became a high school teacher. When she became a mother, she chose to stay home with her son for two years. She had a long-term plan to pursue a doctorate degree, but things changed when she turned 35.  She and her husband divorced, and she made the decision to stay in Cincinnati so that her son could be near his father.

After her divorce, Brosmer spent a lot of time using her own writing to sort out where she was going with her life. She began to take her writing seriously.  Then one night, Brosmer had a dream about women gathered around a table sharing their stories.  From this vision, she founded Women Writing for (a) Change with 15 students in 1991. This safe place for women to speak their truths to one another has grown into a program with 150 students enrolled in classes at the Cincinnati center.

Her development of the Feminist Leadership Academy in 2004 has allowed her to expand her program and reach women throughout the country. Nine cities, including Cincinnati, New York City, Seattle, Indianapolis, Louisville, Ky., Burlington, Vt., Grand Junction, Colo., Bloomington, Ind., and Birmingham, Ala., now have WWFC centers.

Brosmer and her team celebrated their 15th anniversary of WWf(a)C in October of 2006. 
           
MWLM: Describe the WWf(a)C program.

MPB: Women Writing for (a) Change inspires women and girls to craft more conscious lives through the art of writing and the practices of community.  This mission is rooted in the knowledge that the well-being of women and girls has a positive effect on families, institutions, and the planet. WWF(a)C circles provide communities within which writers develop their skills, strengthen their voices, enhance their health, and learn to appreciate their capacity to create positive change in all spheres.

MWLM: Who can participate in WWf(a)C?

MPB: Women and girls ages 8-93 have attended semester classes, weekend and week-long writing retreats, and Saturday theme classes in which they experience the inspiration and safety created by expert teacher-facilitators, and a vibrant, hospitable container for evoking what is theirs to tell. Some co-ed classes were made available in 2006.
             
MWLM: What goals do you have for yourself in regards to WWf(a)C? And have you met your goals?

MPB: In 1998, I set out to accomplish four goals: 1.To establish a training program for other women to build their own centers. 2. To write a book about WWf(a)C. 3.To create a permanent and accessible home for WWf(a)C. 4. To develop a consulting practice to enhance creativity and well-being in the community.
The Feminist Leadership Academy was established to train women in this method.  I have written three of the four sections of the book about WWf(a)C.  In January 2006, WWf(a)C moved into its permanent building which is wheelchair accessible and has an elevator. The Writing for Change consulting practice translates the process of writing into other communities.  WWf(a)C has worked with 63 organizations since 2000 to create writing communities in hospices, hospitals, wellness settings, libraries, and schools.

MWLM: What is the Feminist Leadership Academy?

MPB: The FLA trains individuals to learn how the WWf(a)C process can help their organizations and improve their lives. Participants may choose to take the program to enhance their work experiences, make a transition to a new career, become an instructor at one of the nine WWf(a)C centers or open their own WWf(a)C center. The most popular track seems to be women who are looking for ways to stay true to their feminine values in a highly masculine world.

MWLM: When is the next academy?

MPB: The next Feminist Leadership Academy meets in 2008 in Melbourne, Ky. Individuals selected for the program from the application process will meet for five sessions lasting one week each through the months of January through July, 2008 to open their own centers. Women who are pursuing other parts of the program meet for three sessions. For more information about the program visit www.womenwriting.org.

MWLM: How has WWf(a)C helped you grow as a woman and a writer?

MPB: It is the most self-honoring and risk-taking thing I have done for myself. Doing this goes against everything that I was told growing up – the culture told me to trust the system and not myself. I have learned to trust myself. This has made me have more self-confidence than I ever had.  I have created a creative spiritual interior.

MWLM: What advice can you offer to mom writers?

MPB: Have a regular practice of writing and make an appointment with yourself and protect it with your life in the same way that you would protect your child. It is good for women to write and create something for themselves separate from their children.

Kathy Schlaeger lives in Liberty Township, OH with her husband and three daughters. She has been published in The Cincinnati Enquirer, CIN Weekly, and the Pulse Journal.

---

Previous page

Back to Table of Contents

Next page