Lisa Weinert brings her Narrative Healing program to the Coffee House on August 5 (photo courtesy Lisa Weinert)
CREATIVE RESET: AN INTERACTIVE LITERARY & CREATIVE GATHERING
Coffee House Club at the Salmagundi CLub
47 Fifth Ave. between Eleventh & Twelfth Sts.
Wednesday, August 5, $75-$150 (includes signed book),6:00
www.thecoffeehouseclub.com
www.lisaweinert.com
“Most writing books, journaling courses, and creative writing programs begin by putting the pen to the page. At Narrative Healing, we begin with the body,” native New Yorker Lisa Weinert explains in the introduction to her 2023 book, Narrative Healing: Awaken the Power of Your Story. “We offer a new paradigm for healing from trauma, tapping into creativity, and sharing our stories in the world. The premise here is simple: as we are able to better know our own stories, we are better able to take in the humanity of those around us. My hope is that if we start to listen to the body when it whispers, we won’t have to wait for it to scream to hear what it has to say. And we will thus have the capacity to listen to others too.”
A licensed social worker, certified yoga teacher, book coach, and public speaker, Weinert founded Narrative Healing in 2016, guided by her belief in storytelling as a form of medicine for the body, mind, and spirit. She has since led writing retreats and workshops in the United States and abroad, welcoming writers from around the world. On August 5, she returns to her hometown for her first Narrative Healing event in New York City in several years: “Creative Reset: An Interactive Literary and Creative Gathering.”
“I’m so honored to bring Narrative Healing to the historic Salmagundi Club for a special evening presented by the Coffee House,” Weinert told twi-ny. “After spending the past few years completing my MSW and exploring the healing power of storytelling through a social work lens, I’m so happy to be returning to New York’s literary community. It feels like such a gift to come together in person and create a space where we can slow down, listen within, write, and connect through our stories. I’m so grateful to [Coffee House executive director] Julian Tepper for presenting the evening and to [Salmagundi interim executive director] Paul Morris for welcoming us into this extraordinary space.”
The event will feature guided writing and reflection prompts, mindfulness and embodied awareness practices, brief paired and group conversations, live piano and atmospheric music, and a quiet space for private writing, sketching, reflection, and listening. Attendees don’t need any prior experience with such disciplines in order to participate, and everyone is encouraged to proceed at their own pace.
“This partnership reflects the Coffee House Club’s commitment to creating spaces where creativity, thoughtful conversation, and artistic community can flourish,” Tepper told twi-ny. “We’re delighted to partner with Lisa Weinert because her vision of creativity as a practice of reflection, connection, and community beautifully aligns with the club’s own literary and artistic tradition.”
The Coffee House’s history dates back to 1915, when Vanity Fair editor Frank Crowninshield helped form the Foes of Finance, a collective of New Yorkers from intellectual, artistic, literary, and theatrical circles whose constitution declared: “No Officers. No Charge Accounts. No Liveries. No Tips. No Set Speeches. NO RULES.” The Salmagundi Club was founded in 1871 by a group of artists and patrons.
Tickets for “Creative Reset” range from $75 (community) to $125 (standard) and $150 (supporter), each including a signed copy of Narrative Healing: Awaken the Power of Your Story.
As I noted in a September 2023 twi-ny talk, “Weinert exudes a natural warmth and charm, building communities of friends and colleagues who mingle and then form bonds and relationships of their own.”
You can expect the same thing to happen August 5 at the Coffee House Club.
[Lisa Weinert also writes the Substack “The Writing Body.” Mark Rifkin is a Brooklyn-born, Manhattan-based writer; visit his Substack here to find out how you can win a free copy of Narrative Healing.]