Cassie Premo Steele - Earth Joy Writing: Creating Harmony Through Journaling and Nature

Acknowledgments

The first thanks goes to the Earth.

After that, I thank Sunita Dhurandhar, who made a creative pact with me in 2008 that we would write something once a week and send it to each other for encouragement and feedback. When I finished the book, I dreamed that I was standing in the doorway of my studio and saw a huge, pink, full moon in the north saying to me, You are better than this. It was Sunita who told me it would take me years to understand the meaning of this dreamand where the moon was in that vision is where I live now.

I also want to thank all the creative people Ive met in South Carolinapeople who attended the Earth Joy Writing classes and workshops I taught at my studio and at Saluda Shoals Park and those who continue to help me co-create with writing, nature, laughter, and friendship: Amy L. Alley, Lori Baker, Jodi Barnes, Alison Beard, Al Black, Dara Brown, Candace Chellew-Hodge, Grace Contreras, Marie Curry, Lan Ngoc Hoang, Pamela Jacobs, Ellen Kline McLeod, Sandy Spears, Jan Smoak, Debbie and Kendal Turner, Brandi Perry, and Melissa Seligman.

Thanks to David Whiteman, who, as director of the Green Quad Learning Center for Sustainable Futures at the University of South Carolina, hired me to teach the ecopoetry classes that became the seeds for this book. And thanks to my students who shared the joy of writing there with me.

Thank you to Cathy Carter-Scott and Karen Deaton for arranging the Earth Joy Writing workshops I led for many seasons at Saluda Shoals Park.

Deep thanks to Ashley Kaufman, my Ash Tree whose letters through the years have kept me balanced in both hawk flight and bluebird landing.

And I am thankful to my longtime friends, Jemme Stewart and Javier Solano, who have guided me through some of lifes storms and have always believed in me.

Gratitude to Joy Harjo, whose poemsongs accompanied me during walks at dawn.

Love and heartfelt thanks to my daughter, Lily, and my stepdaughter, Laura, for your teachings in how to mother strong daughters so I could understand the feelings of a mothering Earth.

Gratitude to my mother, Blanche Premo-Hopkins, and my father, E. Robert Premo, whose unconditional love helped me grow. And top of the world looking down on creation gratitude to my sister, Bianca Premo.

Earlier versions of Open Your Heart, Tend to the Smallest Wing, and Walk in Truth were published in SageWoman Magazine, Issue 78 (Spring 2010). An earlier version of Pond Lesson appeared in Undefined Magazine , Book Five (MarchApril 2010).

I feel very grateful to Midge Raymond and John Yunker, the co-founders and editors of Ashland Creek Press, for the patient beauty of our work together.

And finally, immense love and thanks to Susanne Kappler, under whose faithful care my body and soul blossom.

Ashland Creek Press is a small, independent publisher of books with a world view. From travel narratives to eco-literature, our mission is to publish a range of books that foster an appreciation for worlds outside our own, for nature and the animal kingdom, for the creative process, and for the ways in which we all connect. To keep up-to-date on new and forthcoming works, subscribe to our free newsletter by visiting www.AshlandCreekPress.com .

About the Author

Photo credit: Susanne Kappler

Cassie Premo Steele, Ph.D., is the author of twelve books and audio programs on the themes of creativity, healing, and our connection to the natural world. She works as a writing coach with clients internationally. An inspiring and nurturing leader, she guides people to live in ways that are connected to whats important to themcreativity, nature, community, family, and joy.