Breathe/Read/Write LLC

This freewriting circle is open to everyone. No meditation or writing experience needed. We gather, and Lisa guides us into a few minutes of quiet breathing followed by the reading of a poem or short piece of prose that we all freewrite off of.

Freewriting means we keep the pen moving and try not to think. There’s no way to do it wrong. Then we share our writings, listen closely to one another, and respond by saying what we like the sound of. Sharing is optional, and we’re not critiquing the freewrites. Instead, we reflect back what we have heard, what’s staying with us.

Come see what happens when you get quiet and express what arises.

BRW circles are intimate, usually five to ten writers. We do three rounds of meditating, freewriting, and sharing.

In the first round, we all share together. With bigger groups, in the second and third rounds, we use the Zoom breakout rooms to have time to share more fully. This nurtures a sense of connection, as does the practice of holding silence together.

Many lasting friendships have started in BRW circles.

LISA'S BIO:

Lisa Freedman is an author, activist, and professor of creative writing at The New School in New York City. She holds an MFA from the New School and is certified as a mindfulness meditation teacher by Dhama Moon/Tibet House. She founded and directs Breathe/Read/Write, LLC, an online community where Lisa weaves mindfulness together with writing and revising. As Lisa puts it, meditation is about listening, listening without judgment, and cultivating the ability to open one’s heart to all that is. She also brings this perspective and this pair of practices – meditation and writing – to her work as a writing coach who offers developmental and editorial guidance on a wide range of projects.

Lisa has taught and presented extensively — for the International Women’s Writing Guild, New York Zen Center, United Nations, Extinction Rebellion, and many others. She collaborated with the International Women’s Writing Guild to create ROOTS/TRUNK/SKY, a collection of writings from the Imagination & Justice Meditation & Free-Writing Circles. Lisa’s poems and prose have appeared in Satya Magazine, The New York Times, the anthology Resist Much, Obey Little, and more.