Saturday marked the 18th annual Spring Conference put on by the San Diego Area Writing Project (SDAWP). I had asked a friend and colleague if she would lead a session on writing as adults, knowing that she is writer through and through. She quickly responded that she wasn’t writing–she was struggling to find words as she dealt with some challenging life events. Instead, she replied, she was foraging, finding words in the wild using collage, black out poetry, playing cards, making zines, and more–and using these same techniques with her middle school students.

Wait! Finding words? I couldn’t get back to her fast enough. THIS was a session we needed for teachers (and their students)! Thank goodness she agreed.

As participants walked into her session they sat down to a pile of magazines, paint chips, a page with some open ended prompts and lists of words, scissors, glue sticks and encouragement to just get started. When there weren’t enough scissors, I watched one participant pull her Swiss army knife (the kind with the little scissors) out of her backpack, other just started tearing. Maybe 5 or 10 minutes into the session, our presenter introduced herself and began talking about this premise of foraging for words as we continued to make and tear and glue.

The energy in the room was electric. Teachers cut and tore, glued and foraged. Words emerged from dictionary pages torn from books no longer in use. Images spilled words, words build images, poems emerged from black sharpie markers, playing cards became nudges to dance or sing… Students used pages torn from the novels they were reading in class (extra books acquired for this purpose) to create blackout poetry, tastes of a chapter of a book they would soon read. They folded zines, summarizing novels in 6 words (or 12 words), illustrated with found images. (Ala Cozy Classics board books)

We were reminded that sources of collage material are everywhere! That “Next Door” app on Facebook, the Friends of the Library freebies, not to mention the casual discards (like the backing papers from the nametags we used at the conference) that often are just tossed.

We left with a work in progress and ideas overflowing. Some participants left with a pile of magazines, others with an emerging piece of art. We all left with the conviction that there are multiple ways to get at writing…and to get unstuck when the words simply won’t come.

While I’m not sure exactly where this piece will lead me…or if it will just find a place in my notebook, I know these ideas will continue to marinate. I’m already thinking about ways to use this idea of foraging and collage with my own students.

Writers find a way…even when words are not flowing. Now to make sure that students also know that there are many ways to write…and to ignite writing. Forage away!