2022 Fellows Retreat at Akwaaba
Testimonial
“I'm back at my writing desk after the long weekend retreat, and I can still hear it. The easy laughter we passed around the table like Akwaaba’s signature hot sauce. Or, in the hours between, walking about the grounds of the mansion, charting the path of our stories and how they chose us. Giddy, all of us, about the chance to work with the Edward P. Jones, who, in one-to-one sessions called our attention back to the wonder of our own words. Afterwards, we’d ask each other, ‘and yours, how did it go?’ Our smiles said it all at first.
One of Edward's questions had me literally running back to my desk: ‘If writing a page a day could save your life, would you do it?’ And then there was the advice he shared on how to navigate the silence between starting and finishing a book length project: ‘Push all the way through until you know how your story begins and how it ends. That way, as you’re writing and revising, you can take detours in the telling with an eye always on where you’re going.’
Against the backdrop of autumn leaves and laughter, we received a Sunday morning surprise we couldn’t have anticipated. Ms. Monique, the co-owner of Akwaaba Bed & Breakfast Inns (and a true storyteller in residence), shared a testimonial about how she brought the former estate of F.W. Woolworth back to life and launched Akwaaba Noble Lane for us. In her telling, was a lesson on how resolve and patience go inextricably hand in hand.”
Heran Abate, 2022 Kweli Fellow
