Category: Events

The Green Goddess, Our first biennial multi-day conference, was held April 23 to 25, 2010, at Kirkridge Retreat Center, Bangor, PA.

Keynote speakers included Max Dashu of Suppressed Histories with a tour de force presentation on female icons, Cristina Eisenberg (a wolf biologist who is actively engaged in ecological restoration that supports sustainability of wildlife communities and of the human spirit), Dr. Ann Filemyr on healing from the nature/culture divide, and Cristina Biaggi on the Great Goddess as a green goddess, through the lens of art and history.

Margot Adler was honored with our first Demeter Award for Leadership in Women’s Spirituality, and the Kore Award for Best Dissertation in Goddess Studies went to Dawn Work-Makinne, Ph.D.

Lydia Ruyle’s inspiring goddess banners graced the meeting space, and she will offered an art workshop. Our film series premiered “Pink Smoke Over the Vatican,” about the ordination of Catholic women priests, and featured ethnologist Sabine Jell-Bahlson’s film on Mammywata.

Topics included lady of the beasts, publishing goddess scholarship, spiritual geometry and the goddess, archaeomythology, the divine feminine as vortex, finding your sacred language, the wheel of the year as spiritual psychology, frog mysteries, and much more.

Poet Annie Finch gave a masked reading; novelist Elizabeth Cunningham read from her Maeve novels; storyteller Diane Wolkstein presented The Monkey King; and singer Ruth Barrett gave a “concert for Gaia.”

The 2010 conference took place at the beautiful Kirkridge Retreat Center, atop the Pocono mountain ridges near the Delaware Water Gap.  Kirkridge is located about 90 minutes from both New York City and Philadelphia.

Award-winning poet Annie Finch, featured speaker at our ASWM Conference, reflects on the activities of the weekend:

The ASWM conference was truly a life-weaving web–and a life-changing one for me. I have rarely (never?!!) read for an audience that “got” my goddess poems so profoundly–it was humbling. Overall, the quality of so many presentations was so high–and the content so amazing, so rich, so nourishing. I especially remember performances by Elizabeth Cunningham in her bawdy bodice, reciting a Magdalen prologue from memory prefaced and concluded by songs (what novelist ever does that??!); Cristina Eisenberg’s superb keynote presentation on women and wolves; the remarkable world premiere of the film Pink Smoke Over the Vatican; untangling patriarchy over lunch with Oloye Aina Olomo; dancing a raucous Sicilian dance and participating in Betz King’s superb womb-healing ceremony; being inundated, filled, by fantastic presentations exploring images of the Goddess in the form of bee, butterfly, deer, snake, wolf. . . and meeting so many new and established (Margot Adler! Diane Wolkstein!) brave scholars, writers, and artists, who give so much, care so much, do so much to further this much-needed herstory. I wish ASWM a long and flourishing life, since I know that will mean many more astounding conferences!

The 2010 Green Goddess Conference has come and gone (alas) but it has left us with wonderful memories and connections.

More than 80 of us met in the mountains of Pennsylvania for three very busy, very productive days.  The program was packed full, including both academic presentations and experiential workshops.  The conference was a great success,  according to our measures—the “hive” was full of energy and ideas, many new friendships and collaborations took place, and we enjoyed diverse and stimulating presentations and performances.  Furthermore, all of the organizers are still good friends (not always a given in event planning)!

Your president/web reporter will offer follow up articles and pictures of the event soon.  At present I am re-learning to sit still with a cat on my lap and to listen to the violets bloom.

Watch this site for conference reports and announcements of upcoming events.  We are already planning for regional symposia in 2011 (WI and PA) and a conference in Chicago in 2012!