Adventure into Creative Writing in Confinement with Karen Benke

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Karen Benke portrait_madamesuccess.com_tagether_creative writing_poet teacher_author rip the page!

Today we are delighted to share with you a video greeting from Karen Benke, poet, author, and poet-teacher from California. Karen lives North of San Francisco. She is sheltering in place with her college-aged son, a rescue dog, and a cat.

Please find below Karen’s gift – engaging and magical Creative Writing Activities to do with your kids or on your own.

We hope it’ll bring sparks of joy to your confinement.

Who is Karen Benke

Karen Benke is a poet. She is known for her collection of poems, Sister. Many kids and not-kids-anymore around the world, love Karen’s playful Adventures in Creative Writing books

Karen writes with the spinning planets of darkness and danger. At other times, she writes with the tainted light of tattered forgiveness and other magical things that happen to find their way in between her fingers.

These books are interactive.

They are here for Y-O-U to write in them.

You can take them out for a walk, tear them apart, make a paper plane from the pages, tuck them in places for people to find, and make them your friend.

Rescue dog Raz gave Write Back Soon! a favorable review.

When Karen isn’t writing, she works as a poet-teacher. She helps kids and grown-ups not to be afraid of being creative.

Advice for Coping with Life in Confinement

Karen is writing a lot of letters. She is drinking a lot of tea. She is trying to remember to wear earrings and lipstick every day to keep her spirits up, and she gets a lot of writing done.

Karen spends a lot of time with pen and paper. This act of pen on paper is calming for the nervous system.

That’s why today, Karen is inviting you to adventure into Creative Writing.

She shared with you seven Creative Writing prompts from her book Rip the Page!

These activities don’t teach you “how to write.” 

They are here for you to have a laugh, to make eight secret wishes, to experience mystery and joy, and to keep the magical things inside you alive and growing.

You can do them with your 8-12 year-old kids.

Though, some of us, above 12, adore doing them too!

Let’s slow down and play with words.

Adventure into Creative Writing with Karen Benke (download your gift).

A small reminder from Karen:

Remember: when you trust your words to the page, you’re braver than you think.

Karen Benke

✍️ Connect with Karen Benke:

If your Kids Love to Write:

Please check out Karen’s Snail Mail Museltter Adventure that includes weekly letters from her, snail mail buddy partners, an inscribed copy of one of her books, email check-ins, envelope surprises, and even a Zoom Party to share their creations.

Children With Home made envelopes at the Book Passage Bookstore Karen Benke

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