Napa Valley College faculty speaker series continues
‘When the Heart Takes a Breath’ topic of Nov. 2 presentation
“When the Heart Takes a Breath—The Power of the Written and Spoken Word” will be the Nov. 2 topic by Prof. Janet C. Mendoza Stickmon as Napa Valley College continues a faculty speaker series sponsored by the NVC Foundation.
The talk for writers and aspiring writers will discuss how our writing is a reflection of our self-love, Stickmon says. Tips on how to write a memoir will be shared. There will be an opportunity for participants to write and share their writing.
Prof. Stickmon, the author of “Crushing Soft Rubies,” is a teacher, writer and performer. The presentation is free and open to the public. A social time will start at 6:30 p.m. with the interactive talk at 7 p.m. in the college’s Performing Arts Center, Rm. 147.
Stickmon is a professor of Humanities at the college, teaching Filipina/o-American Heritage, American Mind I and II, and Introduction to Africana Studies.
Stickmon’s memoir, “Crushing Soft Rubies,” has been used as a course textbook at U.C. Berkeley, San Francisco State University, Santa Rosa Junior College and Gavilan College. She is also a spoken word artist who has performed at several venues across the country. Through her literature and performances, she explores issues of love, motherhood, resilience, ancestral connection, and joy. She anticipates the release of her latest collection of work in January 2012 entitled, “Midnight Peaches, Two O’Clock Patience.”
Stickmon is the founder and facilitator of Broken Shackle Developmental Training--a program that promotes the use of healing techniques to help reduce the effects of internalized racism. Her work has influenced thousands of adults and adolescents for the last seventeen years.
Stickmon holds a master of arts degree in Ethnic Studies from San Francisco State University, a master of arts degree in Religion and Society from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, and a bachelor of science degree in Civil Engineering from University of California, Irvine.
For more information on the “Contemporary Conversations with Napa Valley College Faculty” series, call the Napa Valley College Foundation office at 707-256-7168.
Posted: October 26, 2011