S.O.M.O.S. presents programs that focus on freedom of expression and human rights, featuring works by authors who have been imperiled, imprisoned, or silenced by political censorship. Presenters have included Chilean professor Marjorie Agosin of Wellesley College, and Cambodian exile U Sam Oeur. S.O.M.O.S. also offers programs which express our connection to the greater world community, and deepen our perception and understanding of nature. Presenters have included William deBuys and Terry Tempest Williams.

Don’t you love attending an event that stirs your imagination, evokes deep laughter and perhaps tears? Welcome to storytelling, an art form that fills your mind, body and heart. A good storyteller can weave you through the spectrum of emotion and create an image that returns months and years later; a line, metaphor, or moral that sticks with us – an intellectual anchor that we can draw upon. Being engaged with a fine storyteller is a work out for the soul; a bright mode of communication and connection in this quick throw away society.
S.O.M.O.S. has created an event that provides just this kind of outlet and opportunity. Our 2009 Tenth Annual Taos Storytelling Festival will be held on Friday, October 16 and Saturday, October 17 at the Taos Center for the Arts, 133 Paseo del Pueblo Norte, Taos. Once again we’re offering an impressive lineup of tellers spinning their weave in concerts, children stories, tales of the weird, and in visits to our locals schools.
Click here for complete details.

S.O.M.O.S. workshops are designed to assist both novice and experienced writers. They offer a variety of genres, and address both the creative and practical aspects of being a writer. Workshops presented throughout the year are open to non-members. Topics have included poetry, fiction, presentation, political expression through art, personal memoir, and legal issues for writers. Past presenters have included Robin Becker, Denise Chavez, Joan Logghe, Jim Navé, Levi Romero, Jenny Goldberg, Roger Weingarten and Sean Murphy. Visit our website again soon for updated information and schedules.

Saturday, July 11, 1 a.m. – 3 p.m.
TAOS SELF-PUBLISHING WORKSHOP with JOHN Q. OLSON
John Olson is a self-published author. After a few refusal notices he got down to business in front of his own computer screen and discovered how easy and fun it is to publish his own work. Come and discover how satisfying it is to hold the finished product in your own hand. The publishing industry is going through a high-tech revolution and we can all ride the wave! No longer will a writer simply hand over a manuscript to some professional and completely relinquish control. From now on YOU are in total control of YOUR book! Come join SOMOS for a morning workshop and see how easy, affordable andrewarding self-publishing has become. The workshop will take place at the Taos Visitors Center on Saturday, July 11 from 10:00-2:00 PM $50/person.
ADVANCE Reservations Required! Contact SOMOS 758-0081 somos@somostaos.org

Saturday, August 8
POETRY DOJO: A SOMOS WORKSHOP WITH RENEE GREGORIO
Date: Saturday, August 8, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. at The Rane Gallery, 214 Ledoux Street
Cost: $50 non-members/$45 SOMOS members, students, and seniors
For information: Call curator Diana Rico at (575) 613-6491, or email dianarico@earthlink.net
Dojo is a training place, a place to be on a path with others, a place to try out new ways of being. In the Poetry Dojo, participants work with language and their bodies to expand their sense of themselves as expressive human beings. The Poetry Dojo is experiential and integrates poetry-making and somatic work, which helps participants tap into their felt senses and begin to articulate what is found there. In the Poetry Dojo we will discover the power of our own words and the wisdom that resides in our bodies. For both accomplished and aspiring writers.
Renée Gregorio's work has appeared in many journals, chapbooks and anthologies of poetry in the U.S. and abroad. Her poetry collections include TheSkins of Possible Lives, The Storm That Tames Us, Water Shed and Drenched, forthcoming in 2009. In 2003 she cofounded, with poets Miriam Sagan and Joan Logghe, the collaborative Tres Chicas Press. She was one of the founding editors of the Taos Review and one of the featured writers in two videos: Honoring the Muse and Intimate Witness. Along with the writing of poetry, she has trained in aikido for many years. She is a certified somatic coach with the Strozzi Institute.