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Pagoda Writers Circle

Encouragement and Inspiration



Cristina Leeson

January 11, 2025 at 11:00 AM at Yocum Institute

Please note the new time and location!

Cristina Leeson on Ghostly Experiences and How We Can Help Them Depart

Cristina will share her experiences with ghosts, how her book came to be, and present some readings from the book.

Cristina Leeson is a Reiki Master Teacher, an International Psychic Medium for the past 20+ years, and a Certified Master Hypnotherapist. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Parapsychic Science and has spoken at the Edgar Cayce Institute to the International Association for Near Death Studies. Cristina has facilitated The Inner Light Holistic Center for the past 18 years and coordinated the Inner Light Expo for 8 years.

In February, the author celebrated the launch of her book, "Live in the Light, Respect the Dark: Real life encounters with ghosts and how to deal with them." Writing from her personal experiences with ghosts, Cristina shares her stories in order to show others how to recognize the presence of ghosts, and to protect themselves and their homes with step-by-step instructions on clearing energy in a specific location as well as how to cross ghosts over into the light.

Visit cristinaleeson.com for more information about her. She offers a free, weekly newsletter on her website.
Visit Innerlighthc.com to sign up.
Cristina's book and the e-book version are available on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Live-Light-Respect-Dark-encounters/dp/B0CWJNG7NV/

 


Jano Cohen

February 8,2025 at 11:00 AM at Yocum Institute

Jano Cohen on The Making of Grace & Grit: Boxing at Shuler's Gym - photographs by Jano Cohen and text by Jano Cohen and John DiSanto

Jano will talk about how she got full photographic access to Shuler's gym and decided to tell the full story behind this classic community oriented boxing gym. She will use a slideshow to share some of the stories of the people she photographed and interviewed over the five years she covered the gym for the book. She will share how she self-published the book and the talented people involved with that process. Copies of her book will be available for you to look through or buy if you choose.

Jano is a fine art and documentary photographer in the Philadelphia area. This book was selected by the American Book Fest as the 2024 Best Book Award in Photography. In 2017 she was awarded a solo show of photographs about that gym at Open Lens Gallery in Philadelphia.

Her other awards/exhibits include: Photo Review Web Exhibits 2024 and 2023. “RAW” exhibit at Noyes Museum, “Women at Work” at PhotoPlace Gallery, “Humans” at NY4PA, Online Exhibit on Red Filter Gallery, Moscow Foto Awards Editorial Silver Prize, Photo Review 13th prize, honorable mention Monochrome Awards, finalist 7th Pollux Awards, 20th Biennial of Fine Art and Documentary Photography, “Open Lens” at DaVinci Art Alliance, and Fotofoto Gallery.

Her topics includes dance in an Alzheimer’s residential unit, the community of Philadelphia’s Chinatown shown at Asian Arts Initiative, dance for street children in Rwanda and graphic and abstract interpretations of landscapes. She points out strange and beautiful finds in urban decay.

Jano lives in a suburb of Philadelphia and teaches The Alexander Technique and T'ai Chi. She does some photography for dance artists as well. To see more of her work, go to https://janocohenphotography.com

 


Sandra Fees

April 12, 2025 at 11:00 AM at Yocum Institute

Sandra Fees on Writing as Discovery

Sandra will talk about writing that embraces discovery. What happens when we write to explore the unknown and to be surprised, rather than writing what we already know? She will share how this approach to writing informed her new book Wonderwork (BlazeVOX Books, 2024). There will also be multi-genre writing prompts and time for participants to share.

Sandra Fees's first full-length poetry collection is Wonderwork. She is also the author of two chapbooks. A former Berks County Poet Laureate, her poems have been published in a variety of journals and received Pushcart Prize and Best of Net nominations. She also writes creative non-fiction and micro fiction. You can learn more about her at sandrafees.com.