Every October, Sigmund and about 58 other storytellers, writers and illustrators take part in Taleblazers - a literary festival designed to make reading and writing stimulating, exciting and fun for Alberta students.
Sigmund absolutely fulfilled the festival's mandate. He lured the kids with music (the students danced into the gym), grossed them out with stories about snot and toilets, and impressed them with tales of cockroaches and giant slingshots.
The students weren't the only ones in awe.
Sigmund Bower made writing as exciting as being a rockstar. Like Bryce Courtney's "Bum Glue" speech at the Maui Writer's Conference, where nearly every one of us stood up and wanted to shout "I AM A WRITER," Sigmund had each of those students scrambling to the classrooms to "push buttons" and free their imaginations.
His stories entertained them for sure, but inspiration began to germinate from the first few beats of the song he used to draw the kids in.
Eye of the Tiger
You know the one. Dun... dun, dun, dun...DUN, DUN, DUN, DUN DUN DUNNN (You get the picture...)
When the 500 or so students finally stopped singing and clapping, Sigmund told a short story about his friend who played for the Edmonton Oilers in the days of Gretzky. After years of practice, grueling schedules and endless sacrifices, Eye of the Tiger was the song he listened to before taking that first step on the rink.
Sigmund invited us all to think about our own "Eye of the Tiger" moments. There can be more than one. Fulfillment of a dream. Standing up for yourself. Being there for a friend, a companion. Finally writing "the end."
Got your moments ready? Ok, cue the music... Oh, and click here. (You won't be sorry.)
I have an "Eye of the Tiger" moment whenever I finish a good book or watch a great movie. I'm filled with this sense of purpose that I NEED to write, and it's going to be brilliant and leave people with the same feeling I just had.
ReplyDeleteUsually short lived, though... :)
I can relate :-)
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