News – Page 88

March 9, 2015January 9, 2024

About the Saga Special Recognition Award

The Saga Award: Contributions to Women’s History and Culture

The Saga Special Recognition Award in Women’s History was created by the Association for the Study of Women and Mythology (ASWM) in 2012.

Named for the Norse goddess of history and prophecy, the Saga Award honors contributions to women’s history and culture. The phrase “women’s history” came into prominence in the Second Wave of Feminism, as a corrective to patriarchal histories that excluded women’s experiences and accomplishments. The ASWM Board recognizes outstanding scholarship that promote a balanced understanding of what is possible for women, and men and children, as we write a new history.

In 2016 this award went to filmmaker and activist Donna Read, “one of the premier visionary artists of our time,” for her role role in making feminist scholarship and the history of spirituality visible and accessible to a wide audience. Her films that include Goddess Remembered, Burning Times, and Full Circle, Signs Out of Time, Permaculture: The Growing Edge, and (with producer/directorDonna Roberts) Yemanjá: Wisdom from the African Heart of Brazil. In particular the Women & Spirituality trilogy and “Signs Out of Time” document the history of the sacred feminine and its re-emergence in the cultural mythology and activism of our time.

The 2015 Saga Award recipient is Dr. Zsuzsanna E. Budapest, author, ritualist, and tireless teacher of feminist goddess spirituality. Starting with the publication of The Feminist Book of Lights and Shadows (now called The Holy Book of Women’s Mysteries), she has inspired a vision of modern spiritual values. Z’s ideas have influenced women to explore both ancient and modern goddess scholarship and to develop their own connections with the divine feminine. Presently she is also focusing on Femina Nation, her TV project that focuses on notable women.

Genevieve Vaughan was honored with the Saga Award in 2014, for her creation of and dedication to projects like the Gift Economy that promote economic and social justice. Her influential book, For-Giving, a Feminist Criticism of Exchange, has set forth feminist economic principles for creating a maternal economy as a basis for social change. She is also founder of the Temple of Goddess Spirituality, Dedicated to Sekhmet. Located in Cactus Springs, Nevada, near the Nevada Test Site, this Temple creates a sanctuary of feminist values of peace in a location where it is needed most.

In 2012 Dr. Heide Göttner-Abendroth was the first recipient of the award, for her work on Modern Matriarchal Studies. Göttner-Abendroth is the founder of Modern Matriarchal Studies and the International Academy Hagia for Matriarchal Studies and Matriarchal Spirituality in Bavaria. Her meticulous research demonstrates that matriarchies are egalitarian cultures based on gender equality and consensus decision-making. In 2005, Heide was nominated as one of 1000 Peace Women Across the Globe for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Other ASWM awards include the Demeter Award for Leadership in Women’s Spirituality; the Sarasvati book awards (in nonfiction and fiction); the Kore Award for Best Dissertation, recognizing excellence in scholarship in the area of women and mythology; and the Hestia Award for outstanding volunteer service to the organization. ASWM developed its awards program so that notable contributions to culture and scholarship would not fade with the passage of time.

March 9, 2015January 9, 2024

Symposium Features Saga Award Honoree Z Budapest

The Saga Special Recognition Award in Women’s History was created by the Association for the Study of Women and Mythology (ASWM) in 2012. Named for the Norse goddess of history and prophecy, the Saga Award honors contributions to women’s history and culture. The phrase “women’s history” came into prominence in the Second Wave of Feminism, as a corrective to patriarchal histories that excluded women’s experiences and accomplishments. The ASWM Board recognizes outstanding scholarship that promote a balanced understanding of what is possible for women, and men and children, as we write a new history.

Z will present “Goddess Lineage, Rituals and Community” during the 2015 Symposium in Portland OR. She will also be on hand immediately following the day’s event to sign books and discuss her recent memoir.

February 18, 2015January 9, 2024

Symposium Weekend Events in Portland

As you plan to join us in Portland for our 2015 Symposium (April 11), be sure to include enough time to join us for special free events before and after our day program. On Friday night the program begins with a special event held in conjunction with the Black Earth Institute:

7:30 pm at Red Lion Hotel on the River–free and open to the public

““Can the Blessed Virgin hold the heart of goddess women?” A celebration and reading from Patricia Monaghan’s Mary: A Life in Verse with Michael McDermott. If anyone has tales of the hold of Mary, come prepared to share.

And after the day of presentations, we’re happy to announce a wealth of talents hosted by the Women of We’Moon:

7:30-9:30 pm at Red Lion Hotel on the River–free and open to the public

SACRED SHINDIG: A Sharing Circle

with Goddess play, Goddess stories, songs, jokes and other shenanigans!

Including Performance by Bethroot Gwynn (“A Wisdom Goddess Mind Play”)
Spoken Word by Lea Bayles (“Wild Wisdom”)
Inspirations by SisterSpirit Women’s Spirituality Circle
Anthem by Naomi Littlebear Morena and Izetta Smith
And surprise interactive offerings

Priestess of Ceremony: Marna Hauk

Priestess of Song: Barbara Dickinson

Wear your Sacred Garb! Be ready for a Circle of Participatory Power

January 31, 2015January 9, 2024

Susan Griffin keynote presentation, “Who Is Telling the Story?”

“Who Is Telling the Story? A Few Remarks on the Mythic Imagination”

The wondrous events and magic depicted in myth mirror the creative process

of storytelling in countless ways. Using her own experience as a writer as

well as that of other contemporary and classic writers and poets, Griffin

will describe the often mysterious alchemical process by which words and

rhymes, plots, turns of plots, characters, scenes and even whole landscapes

enter the imaginary realm of the tale, a process which challenges many of

the dualities engrained in modern consciousness.

January 30, 2015January 9, 2024

Writing Workshop with Susan Griffin

Meaning to Writing or Writing Meaning

Friday, April 10, 2015 9 AM to 3 PM

First Unitarian Church, 1011 SW 12th Ave., Portland, OR

Details: $55. Bring sack lunch; tea and coffee provided

To register: kradditz@firstunitarianportland.org

Whether you have never gotten around to writing before or you are an accomplished, like most of us, you have probably faced a blank page thinking you don’t know what to say. Often this feeling can prevent you from writing anything at all. In this workshop we will explore the way that the process of creative writing is less about knowing than discovering meaning. From developing trust in intuition, to listening to the sounds words make, to exploring metaphorical and mythic resonances, to exploring the significant “accidents” we call synchronistic, to allowing endings to develop naturally, often surprising us, literature gives us a different path for finding meaning. We will do some writing in class and talk about all the angels and monsters we have encountered along this path.

Susan Griffin is an internationally celebrated writer whose books have been translated into 17 languages and widely anthologized. Among twenty books, Woman and Nature is considered a classic of the environmental movement and A Chorus of Stones: the Private Life of War was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. The recipient of an NEA Grant, a Guggenheim Fellowship, an Emmy Award, and the Commonwealth Club’s Silver Medal for poetry, she has taught writing on college campuses and in community centers throughout the United States and internationally.