Author Carolyn Hayes-Knoll will speak at the Writing for Children & Young Adults workshop offered by The Berkshire Writers Room, on Monday, January 8th, 7-9 PM at Berkshire Community College in Pittsfield, in the Melvillle Building, room 217.
Originally from Tennesse, Carolyn is presently in our area until May when she will leave for the Peace Corp. Art has always been a part of Carolyn Hayes-Knoll's life expression. Beginning in her early 20's, writing began to weave in and out of her art as another expressive form. She wrote her book, Ista Cante with her two daughters in mind. Ista Cante has been a labor of love and passion for Ms. Knoll.
It has been a process of teaching, of understanding herself and her own mother more. Her search for a clearer understanding of her own inner voice has led her to study many religious faiths, including Catholicism, Native American beliefs, Sufism, and most recently Tao. Her artwork and writings reflect love of nature and her spiritual quest to find, for herself and the world, a sacred path with heart.
Ista Cante: A story, resembling a myth or folktale utilizes strong, colorful images of a young child growing up, learning to listen to her own intuition through interaction with a cloth doll her mother made from scraps of her "mother's mother's mother's dresses." The mother named the doll Ista Cante (ishta chanta), Lacota Indian words meaning the-eye-of-the-heart--intuition.
Ista Cante may speak to people of all ages and ethnic backgrounds. The book is a complete artistic creation in itself.
Whether you write poetry, fiction, nonfiction, plays or scripts, all children's authors and lovers of children's books are welcome.
A reading/discussion will follow the lecture.
For further information about The Berkshire Writers Room, meeting times, and The Berkshire Review, call (413) 236-2191 or email theberkshirewritersroom@yahoo.com
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.
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PHS Student Files Suit Against Teacher, School District
Staff Reports
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Adding to the Pittsfield High School's woes is a lawsuit filed in federal court accusing officials failing to intervene in a teacher's sexual harassment of a student.
The school last week put two of its administrators on leave because of external investigations: Dean of Students Lavante Wiggins was arrested and arraigned by federal authorities on drug trafficking charges and the other is the subject of an investigation by the state Department of Children and Families.
The lawsuit, first reported by The Berkshire Eagle, was filed in September in U.S. District Court in Springfield.
A PHS student has accused retired English teacher Robert Barsanti of making inappropriate comments to her and to the class and Pittsfield Public Schools for failing to act. Barsanti apparently retired at the end of the last school year based on a post on the Pittsfield Public Schools' Facebook page.
According to the court documents, the teacher made comments about the plaintiff's mother using her home technology to make porn, told students that he had worked at a strip club called the Golden Banana and assigned them to write a story about it, discussed the sexual proclivities of animals, frequently discussed his porn addiction and made jokes about a transgender student's genitalia.
The complainant also states that Barsanti put her face between his hands and asked her to go into a closet with him.
The student and her mother met with school officials, according to the lawsuit, notified the Title IX coordinator and filed a written complaint. They say other students corroborated their account.
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