PLAINFIELD — Compiling family stories can be overwhelming. Between gathering genealogical documents and trying to piece together a narrative, it can be difficult to figure out where to start.
New England College creative writing professor Maura MacNeil can help. At 3 p.m. on Sunday at Plainfield Town Hall (1079 Route 12A), she will teach a free workshop titled “Family, Memory, Place: Writing Family Stories,” which is being cosponsored by the Plainfield Historical Society and New Hampshire Humanities. Registration is not required.
“This isn’t a workshop just for people who are interested in writing,” MacNeil said. “It’s really a workshop for everyone who is interested in family history, history of place, landscape, their place in a specific place in a landscape and what those things can teach us.”
MacNeil gives attendees a series of prompts designed to get them looking at their stories and the information they have in a new way.
“We talk a lot about the importance of narrative and storytelling in our lives,” said MacNeil, who has been teaching the workshop for six years. “Our stories really connect us together. Somebody may have a very different experience than another person in the room, but there’s a thread that connects them.”
Some people who attend the workshop come in with stacks of documents while others have none.
“They have a strong sense of attachment to place and family and they’re just curious,” MacNeil said. “Everyone ends up leaving with some language, some start of a story that they can continue to work on.”
Older adults are frequently drawn to the workshops as a way to preserve family history for future generations.
“They have stories or memories that they don’t want to have lost,” MacNeil said.
Stories, MacNeil tells attendees, are a way in which people can relate and connect to each other.
“We talk a lot about the importance of narrative and storytelling in our lives,” MacNeil said. “I think the workshop is a really great place to ask ourselves certain questions about what certain stories matter and what they mean in the larger framework.”
One trend MacNeil has noticed is that people who grew up in rural communities that are changing are eager to write about how it used to be. It also helps people to be around — and supported — by others who are taking on the same task.
“It’s really interesting what people end up coming with,” MacNeil said. “The idea of having someone listen to your story is pretty exciting.”
Editor’s note: For more information, visit phsnh.org/events. Liz Sauchelli can be reached at esauchelli@vnews.com or 603-727-3221.
