Nan says she’s basking thanks to her new designation, “resident scholar,” at the Oregon Writing Project within the University of Oregon. “I’m honored but am too busy to bask long.” In addition to her presentations for the OWP, she leads workshops for libraries, retreat and renewal organizations, writers’ groups, continuing education programs, and religious organizations. Her interest in American literature, Master of Liberal Arts degree from The Johns Hopkins University, and years of teaching all contribute background for her present work.
Nan leads a variety of kinds of workshops. On the West Coast she guided groups in writing to explore “wilderness within and without,” and in Washington, D.C. and Indiana, she led participants in writing to design sacred space. In Indianapolis she co-guided pastors writing to fathom their vocational dedication, and nation-wide, on-line she has taught for Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. In Oregon she conducted a series of interfaith writing workshops, and at national conferences she demonstrates a program that enables retired people to review their lives. She reports that at this time she’s immersed in her most challenging undertaking–creation of a writing-to-heal manual for veterans who suffer from post-traumatic stress.
About her work Nan says, “I love what I do. Most of all I love the moments when participants look up from the page, their eyes alight with insight.”
