What People Are Saying
Thank you, dear Ana, for accepting me as I am, and then miraculously transforming me and sending me home with the luscious feeling of belonging, to myself, to your class, and, shock of all shocks, to humankind. Wow!
~Dana Flint, Newspaper Reporter
So what does participating in one of Ana’s writing workshops feel like?
Always before we write, we light a candle, we close our eyes and breathe deep into ourselves. Ana softly guides us on the most loving voyage of our own personal experiences. Just for us she carefully chooses just the right music and the words of other soul loving poets. We read their words aloud to connect us with our own language reservoir where I always long to steep. Then we write- sometimes furiously, sometimes haltingly, reluctantly. But always I touch into parts of myself with such kindness-I find myself recalling, immersing in this life to a depth I’ve never experienced. Ultimately I feel so strengthened and supported in this deep connection with Self, this rooted truth of who I really am. And then-the icing on the cake-we get to share this mystery with each other-what a gift- these writing weekends with Ana at the helm.
~Nancy Lee-Painter, Actress; Professor of Drama
Working with Ana is like having a creative fairy Godmother. She is the English teacher you wish you had, the friend who pours you tea and hangs on your every word.
The hidden brilliance of Ana's workshops is the subtle way they deconstruct everything school taught us about "proper" writing. She absorbs the shame permeating the fluorescent classrooms of our youth: Those Hindenbergian calamities burned into our tender minds--the classmate snickers at a misspelled word, the D- on essays without "clear topic sentences", the grades, evaluations, and "constructive criticism" that straight beat the love of writing out of us. Ana throws out all the rules, all the shame, and all the Pavlovian pressure to perform and takes us back to the whole point of language to begin with: to express something.
All forms of expression are not only welcomed with Ana but passionately hungered for. Ana unfailingly meets each written piece with her world class encouragement. In fact, encouragement is too tame a word for it. Ana is a midwife to the unexpressed: The left behind, forgotten, suppressed emotions stuck in the birth canal of our psyches. Through her tender prompts, calming visualizations, and ear for the authentic, she delivers these lost children into the light, swaddling them with the warmth, empathy, and kindness only her cooing Irish brogue can do.
~Martin McGreevy, Filmmaker
Ana is a gifted writer, author, poet and teacher. She has the unique capacity to tease out what lies deep within her students. I am amazed by what comes forth from those in her writing groups...what I have written, held by Ana, has at moments taken my breath. I deeply cherish the dozens of classes I have participated in led by Ana....and I delight in imagining those yet to come! Ana is the champion of every writer in her group... Amazing, really!
~Caroline Jones, Blogger; Path of the Ordinary
To write with Ana Ramana is to explore the beauty of your own life. The blend of Ana’s vast experience as a writer, teacher and lover of all things translates into a tender safe haven for writers of all levels, including complete beginners. With heartfelt skill, Ana creates an irresistible invitation to dive inside and discover what you may have missed in the busyness of the day to day. Her ability to create a welcoming space to look at life afresh, without judgment, allows for treasures to be discovered in the simplest to the wildest corners of experience. Transmitting these riches to the page and sharing as each feels moved weaves a tapestry of humanity that is always a delight to behold. If you have an opportunity to write with Ana, to feel the warmth of her grand heart, and discover the beauty that lies within your own…what would keep you from receiving a such a gift?
~Amrita Brummel-Smith, Retired Doctor of Medicine
Receiving Ana's feedback on my writing is to be swathed in love.
With Ana's encouragement I have dared to explore the deeper emotions that I have kept hidden for decades.
Writing with Ana is to be challenged to be totally open and honest with myself and to have the courage to speak my truth to others.
It is an extraordinary experience to be heard by Ana. It's as if the heavens opened and a shower of glittering stars burst forth.
An invitation to a workshop with Ana is a precious opportunity to experience growth toward learning who we are meant to be.
~ Guy Peckham, Architect