11/24/2020
Hello Friends,
Well, we had our first Zoom Zen last Thursday with our very special guest, Mr. Ed Conley. Though I had my doubts about how it would go, I was very glad to connect with Ed and hear his insights into the Heart Sutra, politics, and McGyver. Somehow he pulled it all together seamlessly. I heard from our attendees that they enjoyed it as well.
To keep the momentum going, we are planning a second Zoom Zen, or Zen Zoom, or what you will, for Thursday, December 3 at 6pm. This should give you all time to enjoy Thanksgiving (in a unique way this year) and to recover from your tryptophan trip and hopefully be ready to zazen like a pro!
Our very special guest for the evening will be a woman who has had profound impact upon my life, Ms. Suzanne Hoover. I'm not reading from any biography or CV right now, I'm just telling you what I know about her. I first met her in 1990 or 91 when I took "How to Read a Poem" with her at Sarah Lawrence College. It was an intense course offered in the English department as a literature class, but what I noticed right away about it was that it was taught by Suzanne as one might teach a creative writing poetry class. Suzanne was always referring to the poet's "toolbox" and how skillful one had to be to build a masterful poem from so few materials with so few tools. I learned as much about writing as I did about reading a poem in that class! It should come as no surprise that Suzanne is a poet and author herself. In addition, she has studied Buddhism with Bernie Glassman, a founder of the Zen Peacemakers and huge influence on American Zen.
Suzanne and I reconnected a few years ago through the miracle of the interwebs and it has a been a real pleasure to get periodic emails from her updating me about her life. Appropriately enough, she has been teaching at Sarah Lawrence's graduate program for creative writing for many years now. She also is an alumna of Sarah Lawrence and, while an undergrad, she studied with Joseph Campbell.
Many of you know the now famous story of why I chose to study at Sarah Lawrence College - to study with the great master, J.C. But, upon arriving in 1990, I discovered to my great chagrin that he had passed away two years prior. I am pleased to say that after a lifetime of studying "with" him, I finally got to meet him at his burial site in Hawaii a few years back, when Dave, Rach, Alba, and I had a little seance at his grave. Though I didn't get to study with him at SLC, I did get to meet Suzanne, and that made it all worth it!
I hope you will join us on Thursday, December 3 at 6:00 pm.
Be safe, smart, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Deep Bows,
Jason
p.s. - Please indicate that you wish to join in the comments below so that I can send you a Zoom invite!
