27 Powers

27 Powers 27 Powers rides on one fierce belief: when we put the truth into words, life swings into focus. Lear Sign up on my list. You’ll be the first to know.

Welcome to 27 powers, the creative writing community hosted by me, Laurie Wagner. A published writer for over 25 years, and a teacher to thousands of students, I offer weekly writing classes in the Northern California Bay Area for beginning and well-seasoned women writers who gather in Alameda, and in Berkeley at Teahouse Studio. I also offer creative writing classes online through my e-course, T

elling True Stories and in 2013, Straw into Gold . I also produce the 27 Powers Traveling Writer Series, which brings world-class poets and writers like Ellen Bass, Tony Hoagland, Stephen Dunn, Marie Howe, Dorianne Laux, Joe Millar, Deena Metzger and Philip Gerard to the San Francisco Bay Area to teach, to converse and tell stories. Want to be nudged when new e-courses, live classes and series dates get announced? http://27Powers.org

Will you be joining Mark Nepo and I this Friday for Wild Writing A La Carte?Mark is a master teacher, a benevolent soul,...
12/03/2024

Will you be joining Mark Nepo and I this Friday for Wild Writing A La Carte?

Mark is a master teacher, a benevolent soul, and his style of weaving story with poetry, with myth and modern life are transformative. As a writer, sitting in circle with Mark deepens my awareness and my commitment to how I mean to show up on the page, and in life – especially now when the world needs our voices the most.

27 Powers is pleased to be able to bring Mark to you for an online class which includes in class writing and the kind of deeper discussion that Mark brings alive in his teachings. You do not need to be a writer to join us, only someone who wants to reach into the material of their own life and make something beautiful and meaningful from it.

Join us? https://27powers.org/mark-nepo-a-la-carte/

Easy family, kind children, sweet ex husband, a dog that doesn’t bark, sunny skies, everyone in good health. Even with a...
11/29/2024

Easy family, kind children, sweet ex husband, a dog that doesn’t bark, sunny skies, everyone in good health. Even with all the sorry shenanigans going on in the world, there is this love I feel for this bunch. This lucky little pod, my people. ❤️ .

Friends,Since the election – which woke many of us up into a world we weren’t expecting – two questions feel important t...
11/26/2024

Friends,

Since the election – which woke many of us up into a world we weren’t expecting – two questions feel important to me: How will we meet this moment as writers and citizens? And how will each of us use our voices as beacons of beauty and connection in the new world?

On December 6th we welcome poet, spiritual friend and guide, Mark Nepo, into the classroom to consider these questions with us, and to help us carve a path from the heart to the page and into the world.

Mark is a master teacher, a benevolent soul, and his style of weaving story with poetry, with myth and modern life are transformative. As a writer, sitting in circle with Mark deepens my awareness and my commitment to how I mean to show up on the page, and in life – especially now when the world needs our voices the most.

27 Powers is pleased to be able to bring Mark to you for an online class which includes in class writing and the kind of deeper discussion that Mark brings alive in his teachings. You do not need to be a writer to join us, only someone who wants to reach into the material of their own life and make something beautiful and meaningful from it.

Save your seat here :: https://27powers.org/mark-nepo-a-la-carte/

It’s hard to sum up this story in some quirky paragraph. These are Indian women and their children in the beggar’s camp ...
11/16/2024

It’s hard to sum up this story in some quirky paragraph. These are Indian women and their children in the beggar’s camp that works with. The women are talented quilt makers, and every quilt they make and which James sells takes one of these kids off the street and puts them in school for a year. They are adorable and dirty and dear. When they met James they were all begging, now the women are making money and the kids are off the street. Find out more about james and his work, at .

Me and Susma at Pashupatinath
11/15/2024

Me and Susma at Pashupatinath

Mind the monkeys .
11/15/2024

Mind the monkeys .

Our meditation room here in Kathmandu for the last few days. There we sit in all that glorious splendor, breathing in th...
11/14/2024

Our meditation room here in Kathmandu for the last few days. There we sit in all that glorious splendor, breathing in the sounds of monks chanting in the hills behind us, cars back firing, dogs barking, the swallows in the eves. It’s all here, beauty and chaos at every turn.

We landed in India enroute to Nepal and got the news about the election. It’s been strange to witness it from so far awa...
11/11/2024

We landed in India enroute to Nepal and got the news about the election. It’s been strange to witness it from so far away, to read the New York Times or get on social media, and then to be here again. Interestingly, a number of Nepali shopkeepers have told me that they believe Trump is a good man. “He’s so happy,” the man who sold Jeff a backpack said yesterday. “And strong,” he added, making Popeye muscles with his arms. What a wild, wild world. .
,

Took a walk last night after we’d finished whatever it was that we were doing. likes to walk down the road, touch the g...
10/14/2024

Took a walk last night after we’d finished whatever it was that we were doing. likes to walk down the road, touch the gate and turn around. His dog, Flora is around here somewhere. Simple ending to a spacious, nowhere to go day here on Mark’s land..

24 years ago, one of our many couples therapists told us to ask for 100% of what we wanted from the other, to expect no ...
10/08/2024

24 years ago, one of our many couples therapists told us to ask for 100% of what we wanted from the other, to expect no for an answer, and to then ask ourselves how we would get our own needs met. Even though we understood it at the time and it made sense, I think we were still a little sore about it, still feeling disappointed in one another for not trying harder to make the other happy - like it was the other person’s job. Many clunky and not so fun years were to follow, but we did set off on a path to understand our own needs and to meet them. I think this is why, when we did divorce 10 years ago, we were more on our feet, and less angry about all those un-met needs. Weirdly, learning to take care of ourselves has made us more kind and giving to one another post marriage. Now we have this soul friendship, and i honestly didn’t see that coming. With

Will we see you for this a la carte class on Thursday with the amazing Elizabeth Rosner?In our work together, we will:➡️...
10/08/2024

Will we see you for this a la carte class on Thursday with the amazing Elizabeth Rosner?

In our work together, we will:

➡️ Tap into the deeper story we’re wanting to tell and consider how we might interweave our stories with another non-fiction narrative
➡️ Consider examples of books and stories that benefitted from a blend of genres
➡️ Discover how stretching our storytelling practices can broaden and deepen the work we create and the audience we reach

Sign up here https://27powers.org/liz-rosner/

10/08/2024

Do you love writing, journaling, photograpy and/or sketching? Ethical Traveler and the Himalayan Writers Workshop invite you to experience the extraordinary arts, spiritual life, and beauty of Nepal's Kathmandu Valley this coming November. Join us for a 10-day trip that will expand your imagination and rock your world! The trip is co-led by Ethical Traveler director Jeff Greenwald, Buddhist scholar James Hopkins, and gifted writing coach Laurie Marks Wagner of 27 Powers. Get in touch through the link above, and sign up for this unforgettable adventure!

Ten years of running workshops together and it only gets better with Tonight, after saying goodbye to our gorgeous gr...
10/05/2024

Ten years of running workshops together and it only gets better with Tonight, after saying goodbye to our gorgeous group of women, we headed for the hills and got lost in the stunning New Mexico light. ❤️ .

After I’d set up the small circle for early morning Story Slices, I wondered if anyone would come. But it was so beautif...
10/02/2024

After I’d set up the small circle for early morning Story Slices, I wondered if anyone would come. But it was so beautiful in there, and I realized that if it was just me for the 30 minutes of quiet reflection I’d be just fine.

Friends,Please join 27 Powers and Author, Elizabeth Rosner, for a rich and inspiring class on the creative expansiveness...
10/01/2024

Friends,

Please join 27 Powers and Author, Elizabeth Rosner, for a rich and inspiring class on the creative expansiveness of genre bending and blending.

Genre-bending has been taking place among literary forms for a long time — but cross-fertilization seems more popular than ever. How can we borrow and learn from a variety of practices — poetic, journalistic, scientific, speculative — and create stronger, more interesting pieces?

For the past 25 years, Elizabeth Rosner has been writing acclaimed books that stretch across genre lines: blending prose with poetry, interweaving memoir and scholarly research.

In our work together, we will:

➡️ Tap into the deeper story we’re wanting to tell and consider how we might interweave our stories with another non-fiction narrative
➡️ Consider examples of books and stories that benefitted from a blend of genres
➡️ Discover how stretching our storytelling practices can broaden and deepen the work we create and the audience we reach

Save your seat here https://27powers.org/liz-rosner/

I realize that not everyone wants to have kids, and those who do don’t always get a chance to. And so I am always gratef...
09/26/2024

I realize that not everyone wants to have kids, and those who do don’t always get a chance to. And so I am always grateful that these two are in my life. They’re never far from my thoughts, and when I think about people I want to be near, it’s always Ruby and Zoe. ❤️

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Alameda, CA
94501

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Thoughts from the stupa

Wild Writing Teacher Training has begun registration. There’s a live Q&A Wednesday the 30th at 1pm pacific. Link in the linktree ❤️

A Few Things I Don’t Want to Forget
A Few Things I Don’t Want to Forget

[NEW ON THE BLOG] A Few Things I Don’t Want to Forget Listen and read more at https://27powers.org/blog/a-few-things-i-dont-want-to-forget/

To All My Friends Who Struggle with Loving Their Bodies
To All My Friends Who Struggle with Loving Their Bodies

[NEW ON THE BLOG] ✍️ To All My Friends Who Struggle with Loving Their Bodies Read (and listen) to the full post here :: https://27powers.org/blog/to-all-my-friends-who-struggle-with-loving-their-bodies/

A little more vulnerability from the morning of a workshop❤️

[NEW ON THE BLOG] A Few Wild Things… Read (and listen) to the full post here :: https://27powers.org/a-few-wild-things/

More than a house concert, it was a chance to gather with other people, put down our phones, stop checking the news or worrying over our plans or what will happen tomorrow. More and more it’s just gathering with other people to talk or to share something beautiful, like music with my friend Velvy @velvya on stage at Powers Ct. It’s the medicine of these times. A chance to be with others, to greet them, to look into their eyes and to give our attention to something gorgeous and life giving - all together on an evening in mid June around the fire. . . . . . #houseconcerts #27powers #musicaroundthefire #gatheringslikethese

What If We Already Loved You?
What If We Already Loved You?

NEW ON THE BLOG: What If We Already Loved You? Read (and listen!) to more at https://27powers.org/what-if-we-already-loved-you/ 📷: Illustration by Zoe Wagner

NEW ON THE BLOG: A Dirty, Wonderful Time Read and listen in here https://27powers.org/wonderful-time/

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