Gingivitis is an unfortunate nickname

nausea
baffle
bam!
angst
claustrophobic
lobotomy
abrasion
gingivitis
mango

We collected words. Nausea was popular. Angst made frequent appearances. Gingivitis became both a condition and an unfortunate nickname.

Last week’s Summer Writing Workshop for Teens — a free program offered by Seashore Family Literacy — drew an eclectic mix of high school-age students led by two (tireless) adults.

To inspire creative writing, we explored the world through walks and talks. We paddled. We picnicked. We hiked through dense forest and rolled in deep sand. We spied starfish and sea lions. We inhaled seaport smells, and napped to the lull of bay waters. We munched through mango-avocado wraps and found revival in bags of candy.

And we wrote. And wrote. And wrote more. Poems, stories, group meanders, flashes of insight, reflection. We expanded the word pool. We stretched our bodies and our minds. Every day we reached to fill the space between the known and unknown.

All the while we plucked each experience for words . . .

fig
poppy
sting
fancy
aluminum
disease
tempt
courageous
satire
freckles . . .

Find Your Place

The book is out!

Find Your Place, a book of poetry and prose from Seashore Family Literacy, has hit bookshelves everywhere — or rather, a couple of libraries, bookstores, and kitchen counters across the central Oregon Coast. But it could be everywhere — and it could be yours!

The 64-page book reflects the work and spirit of the Young Writers Group, a collection of students age 14 to 21 who enjoy writing practice with a supportive vibe. Students and adult volunteers meet every Thursday evening to write together in a place where it is safe to reveal the darker (and occasionally, lighter) side of life.

I’ve been a volunteer with the Young Writers Group for nearly four years. And, I’m grateful to feel I have found my place. I like to say that “poetry saved my life,” and it’s true. But it’s this endearing group of misfits and upstarts that expanded my heart.

Do you want to feed your mind, encourage young authors and celebrate the power of the writing process? Find Your Place is available for just $10. (And all proceeds go to the writing programs at Seashore Family Literacy, a nonprofit organization).

Blah, blah, blog

The road from resistance to revelry is a long and winding route.

I’ve resisted this blog, and before that I resisted my website. It’s not that I am against technology. Rather, I shy from self-promotion. I think it’s in bad taste to toot your own horn. I like a soft piano, in a dim room. I’m not crazy about parades.

But I understand the need for presence, for promotion. Ironically, much of my work is in publicity and promotion. I promote companies and ideas. I shout from the rooftops, and write loud and clear to give voice to small business, big business, to the haves and have-nots. And yet, and yet, when it comes to promoting — or even revealing — my own efforts and achievements, I am uncomfortable offering more than a restrained hooray among a few friends.

The irony, again, is that each week I urge teens in the Young Writers Group to take pride in their work. “Own it,” I tell them. “Read it loud and proud!”

And so, I am taking my own medicine. Despite my initial resistance, I have come to this: A blog doesn’t have to be all about me. For now, it can be quiet place to share a few notes.

And so, let’s go. Not with the thunder of the self-absorbed, but in the same careful way a single line, when spoken softly, carries great weight.

Resume

Drew Christine Myron

Owner-Operator of DCM Inc, a marketing communications company offering increased media and community exposure through strategic actions that include the creation of press releases, website copy, brochures, annual reports and other promotional materials.
1997 - present

Client List, a sample:
• America Online/CityGuide
• Lincoln County School District
• Weissmann Travel
• Seashore Family Literacy
• Weilworks Art Gallery
• Jefferson County Association of Realtors
• Noble Erickson Inc
• People with AIDS Coalition
• Colorado Association of School-Based Health Care

Books:
• Northwest Best Places, travel writer for Pacific Northwest guidebook
• Beyond Forgetting: Poems and Prose about Alzheimer's Disease, contributing poet
• The Triumphant Spirit, contributing writer for a photo documentary featuring Holocaust survivors
• Real Estate for Pennies, editor, a guide to foreclosure purchases

Magazines/Newspapers:
• Boat U.S.
• Newport News Times
• South Lincoln County News
• The Herb Companion
• Colorado Gardener
• North Denver Tribune
• Colorado Arts

Literary Journals:
• The MacGuffin
• Wazee Journal
• Four and Twenty
• Poetry for the Masses
• Central Avenue Poetry

Awards:
• First Place, Poetry - Tallahassee Writers Association, 2009
• Second Place, Poetry - Pacific Northwest Writers Association, 2008

Events & Exhibitions:
• Starting Here: A William Stafford Celebration, Orchestrated/featured in poetry reading, 2010

• Forecast - Denver, A traveling word-art collaboration featuring poems, paintings and exhibition book, 2008
• Off the Page - Oregon, Organized/featured in event of local writers, 2007-09
• The Making of Dust, Organized/featured in gallery exhibition blending art and poetry, 2006
• Off the Page - Denver, Hosted/featured in writing showcase, 2004

Career Experience:

Public Relations/Writer
Denver Urban Gardens
Established and supervised media campaigns; Wrote, edited, provided photography and designed all promotional materials, including brochures, reports, newsletters, website. 1995 -1997

Senior Writer/Corporate Communications
Petroleum Information Corp.
Denver, Colorado
Created, wrote, edited and designed monthly newsletter for an international company of 5,000 employees; Researched, monitored and reported on industry events and activities. 1993 - 1995

Managing Editor
The Dalles Weekly Reminder newspaper
The Dalles, Oregon
Managed editorial and photography staff; Directed reporters in coverage of feature stories, hard news and editorial assignments; Coordinated extensive management, writing, editing, photography and design responsibilities in a deadline-oriented environment. 1992 - 1993

Managing Editor/Reporter
The Goldendale Sentinel newspaper
Goldendale, Washington
Managed all aspects of newspaper production, including writing, editing, photography and design; Directed news and feature coverage while also covering city council, school board, county commission, cultural and community events. 1990 - 1992

Education
• English/Communications, Bachelor of Arts, 1989
Fort Lewis College, Durango, Colorado
• Rolling Stone magazine, New York, New York - Fact Checker/Researcher
• Sitka Center for the Arts - Neskowin, Oregon, January 2008
• Tin House Writing Workshop - Portland, Oregon, July 2006
• Taos Institute of Arts - Taos, New Mexico June 2003

Philanthropy
• Seashore Family Literacy - Mentor/teacher to teen writers, 2004-present
• Denver Santa Claus Shop - Board of Directors, Publicity Chair, 2001-04
• Summit Jazz Foundation - Board of Directors, Media Relations, 2000-04
• Whiz Kids - Mentor to grade-school students, 1996-2004

Words at Work

Transforming complex issues into everyday ideas, Drew Myron crafts copy that communicates. Blending the mind of a journalist with the heart of a poet, she covers everything from real estate to rhubarb, community gardens to corporate overviews. Newsletters to websites, politics to poetry — Drew writes words that work.

Services
News & Feature Articles
Travel & Entertainment Guides
Marketing Strategies
Media Releases
Newsletters
Brochures
Annual Reports
Website content

Books
Northwest Best Places, travel writer for Pacific Northwest guidebook
The Triumphant Spirit, contributing writer to a pictorial documentary featuring Holocaust survivors.
Beyond Forgetting, contributing poet

Magazines/Newspapers
Boat U.S.
Newport News Times
South Lincoln County News
Denver Urban Garden's Underground News

Clients (a sampling)
Lincoln County School District
Jefferson County Association of Realtors
Noble Erickson Inc
Shamrock Lodgettes
Weilworks
Relish!
GFree

About Drew

Drew Myron is a former newspaper reporter and editor, who has also covered arts, entertainment and travel for America Online's CityGuide, Northwest Best Places and other publications. For over 12 years, she has headed DCM, a marketing communications company.

When not writing, Drew still enjoys writing — poetry. She won first place in the Tallahassee Writers Association's 2009 Penumbra contest and is the first to be awarded TWA's Carducci Prize for Poetry. She earned second place in the 2008 Pacific Northwest Writers Association’s poetry contest. Her poems appear in Beyond Forgetting: Poetry and Prose about Alzheimer’s Disease, and various print and online journals.

As a poet, she frequently collaborates with artists to combine the written word with visual art. In 2008, she teamed with artist Tracy Weil to create Forecast, a traveling exhibition of 12 horoscope-inspired poems paired with interpretive paintings.

In addition, she hosts Off the Page writing/reading events, offers lively writing camps and classes for youth, and volunteers weekly with the Young Writers Group, a program of Seashore Family Literacy.

She lives on the central Oregon coast, and can be reached at dcm@drewmyron.com