Welcome to Central Oregon Scribente Maternum!
Welcome to our Central Oregon maternal writing community! We are excited to create a space where writers can commiserate, discuss, and connect about the business of writing, find creative collaborators, and ultimately be a part of a strong, connected community that understands the tension and balance between motherhood* and creativity.
Here’s what to expect from this community:
Regular in-person gatherings — Social (and sometimes kid-friendly) meetups at local spots to chat, commiserate, laugh, and connect around parenting and writing.
In-person writing groups — Opportunities to gather in person to get words on the page, share progress, and provide feedback and encouragement with other writer-moms.
Special workshops, retreats, and panel discussions — We’ll be hosting curated workshops and panels by local authors as our community grows, as well as thoughtful, safe, and cost-effective group writing retreats.
Resource-sharing and community-building — We’ll use this Substack page to post events of interest to the group, helpful resources for writing and thriving during parenthood, and connecting across our various genres and projects.
Along the way, we’ll also have access to all virtual and in-person offerings available through the Scribente Maternum organization. We can’t wait to be in community with you! Thank you for being here.
*A note on our definition of “motherhood”: Motherhood is not a solitary experience (even though it feels like it sometimes), and writing shouldn’t be either. Our definitions of “mother,” “maternal,” and mothering are inclusive and not necessarily linked to gender. The maternal role involves nurturing, the link to Mother Earth, and our everyday role as the parent doing the emotional labor. Our definition of this role includes, among others, trans folx, femme/feminine-identifying genderqueer, non-binary folx, and cisgender women. It also includes those who yearn to be a mother, those who mourn the loss of a child, or those who fill a parental role in nontraditional ways. If you see yourself as a parent in a maternal role, this space is for you.
We further recognize the even greater burden carried by Black mothers, Indigenous mothers, and mothers of color. Our community focuses on the well-being of all mothers as a shared responsibility of the group, rather than the lone task of the individual.
If you have ideas or suggestions for what you’d like to see from this community, please share them in the comments below or by emailing me at caela.j.mckeever@gmail.com. You can also follow the Central Oregon regional chapter on Instagram at @centraloregonscribentematernum.
If you have any interest in co-facilitating this community, please email me at caela.j.mckeever@gmail.com — community facilitators receive comped subscriptions and other fun bonuses.
Other benefits of being a paid subscriber to Scribente Maternum
All subscribers—paid and free alike—receive access to all Write Like a Mother biweekly newsletter posts as well as our monthly community discussion posts.
Paid subscribers receive additional benefits including:
Virtual writing sessions
Writing feedback group matchmaking
Access to all our past event videos
Exclusive discounts to all our events
By upgrading to a paid subscription, you are supporting the work that goes into this newsletter, planning Scribente Maternum retreats, and the ability to compensate for newsletter contributors. You can read more about the full benefits of a paid subscription here. Thank you so much for believing in this work and our mission!
The land acknowledgment below was offered by the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs to the Bend City Council and will be read at each council meeting. We include it here to acknowledge our chapter’s status as guests on this land. As a writing organization, we accept our responsibility for understanding, supporting, and sharing their communities’ stories.
We would like to acknowledge that the beautiful land known as Bend, Oregon north to the Columbia River is the original homelands of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. The Confederated Tribes ceded this land in the Treaty of 1855 while retaining regular and customary hunting, fishing, and gathering rights. The Wana Łama (Warm Springs), Wasq’ú (Wasco), and Northern Paiute people inhabited this area in certain seasonal times that clearly established their presence. It is also important to note that the Klamath Trail ran north through this region to the great Celilo Falls trading grounds. This trade route expanded the impact of commerce between Tribal nations. We acknowledge and thank the original stewards of this land. It is our hope that guests continue to honor and care for this land.