About Marc Polonsky, as Creator . . .
Marc Polonsky
Marc Polonsky was born in New Jersey in 1958 and currently lives in Oakland, California.
AUTHOR:
Marc is the author of The Poetry Reader's Toolkit, a stimulating and accessible guide for readers who are intrigued by poetry but often find it impenetrable. The book features about 95 poems, by storied and illustrious poets from Emily Dickinson to e.e. cummings to Maya Angelou, with Marc's commentary (and prompting questions) walking you carefully through each poem.
Marc is also the coauthor of the Putting the Bars Behind You workbook series, for ex-offenders who are readjusting to the outside world after being released from prison.
WRITER:
Marc is a versatile writer of articles, essays, book reviews, interviews, and other published works. Many samples of his work can be found on the & quot;Writing Samples& quot; page of his web site, marcwordsmith.com.
As a freelance writer, Marc writes (and ghostwrites) articles and books on a wide variety of topics. He also composes training and instructional materials, PowerPoint presentations, web site copy, brochures, speeches, reports, press releases, and more.
EDITOR:
Marc is a freelance editor of all manner of documents, including books, dissertations, reports, and resumes.
EDUCATOR:
For 12 years, Marc taught English Composition, Literature, and other subjects (including Critical Thinking, Ethics, and Humanities) at Vista Community College in Berkeley, California. Today, he helps individual students clarify their thoughts and ideas in person or through email correspondence. Marc works with students from high school to grad school to law school.Speaking for myself . . .
I create for those who enjoy or derive value from reading my words.
I also create on behalf of anyone who needs something put into the right words&emdash;words that convey the intended message, r each the targeted audience, and achieve their desired impact.
I create for people who need their thoughts, ideas, or expertise cast into language that is simple, clear, and thorough.
I create for aspiring nonfiction writers, health professionals, businesspersons, memoir writers, educators, trainers, administrators, and researchers.
I create because a great deal of our life experience is mediated through words.
I believe our experience of life is largely determined by the ways in which we imagine, or conceive of, our world. Therefore, imagination is a key to fulfillment. Words can be, and often are, wielded in such a way as to contract the imagination, through advertising, political slogans, jargon, propaganda, and so on. But words can also be used to open the doors of the mind, to light up new or neglected rooms of the imagination, and to enrich life.
Values that guide my work and my life are clarity, honesty, compassion, friendliness, survival of planetary ecosystems, and the continuing psychological and spiritual evolution of the human species. In all I create, I seek to uphold and advance these values.
This is how I create . . .
When I work with other people, we talk about the project they need help with, why they need or want to complete this project, and how they see my part in it. Do they need me to write it for them from scratch? Do they need some editing? Will we be collaborating, and if so, what will that process look like? Do they have a timetable or deadline? And so on.
We get very clear about what it is they want to communicate, and then I perform some small part of the task for them and get feedback before proceeding, so that I can be certain I'm on the right track and my customer is happy.
When I'm working on a project of my own, I meditate a little bit first, and make sure I know what I want to say and why I want to say it. Then I try to stay connected to my deepest intention as I write, and writing becomes a joyful process.
Tools I Use to Create:
Mainly, my computer and my notebook. Sometimes a tape recorder (for interviews). Pens, of course. The telephone. Email all the time. Healthy food. Fresh air. Plenty of sleep.
I collaborate with (in no particular order) . . .
- my brilliant wife
- my marvelous clients
- my multi-talented friends
- my God (whomever She may Be)
- a few graphic artists
These are the skills I use to create . . .
Impeccable writing skills; whimsy; flair for clarity and precision; careful listening.
Significant people in my life:
My wife Eve, good friends, godchildren, sister, extended family.
Five words I would use to describe myself:
warm, truthful, creative, introspective, considerate
Things I like to do when I'm not creating:
walk in nature, listen to music, read, see people I love, meditate, play chess, surf the Net, send emails, head out of town somewhere beautiful for a few days with my wife
My current projects include:
I'm composing a story to go along with a book of fanciful illustrations, drawn by an artist I've never met in person, but have been communicating with via phone and email. It's a beautiful book; I feel honored to have an opportunity to & quot;put it to words.& quot; In the meantime, she (the artist) is drawing pictures to go with a series of quirky short-short stories I've written about a vaguely wise and decidedly goofy guru.
I'm also currently helping three individuals write three very different books. One book is a travelogue about South Africa, authored by a former Peace Corps volunteer who spent two and half years there. The second book is about God and religion from a child's point of view (actually written by a very wise older adult). The third book is about how to succeed as a businessperson, using marksmanship as an overarching metaphor (authored by a successful business executive).
I also write my own monthly eZine, Watch Words, a personal and (hopefully) compelling look at some of the not-so-obvious ways that words are used in speech and in the media.
Recently, I completed a series of articles for a medical newsletter, created a PowerPoint presentation for a training on the topic of skillful negotiation, edited a book about a young woman's observations and experiences as an American Jew traveling in the West Bank (aka Palestine), and composed lyrics for a song that my wife wrote the melody for.
My wife Eve used to be in a popular local folk trio called Rebecca Riots (see rebeccariots.com). Now she's making a CD of original songs about the Buddhist paramis, or ten perfections of the heart, which are generosity, virtue, renunciation, wisdom, energy, patience, truthfulness, determination, loving kindness, and equanimity. She decided to & quot;share ownership& quot; of this project by inviting several of her favorite people (including me) to co-write songs with her. The song I co-wrote is "Truthfulness".
I'm also planning to complete a couple of unfinished books by my Cousin Ira, who died on November 1, 2005. One is a serious nonfiction work; the other is comedic. These are big projects, but Ira continually assures me there is no hurry.
You can find out more about me by emailing me or checking out my web site, marcwordsmith.com. On my web site, you can also read some of my writing samples, and subscribe to Watch Words if you want.
