Penn is an enthusiastic practitioner of the creativity she teaches. She has been giving writing workshops for 40 years, from beginners to post-literate. Her years of Buddhist practice have led her to give dozens of workshops on Sarasvati (Hindu and Buddhist deity of the arts), Inspiration and on Invoking Your Muse. Sections of her book on creative writing are up on www.mytown.ca/whatspringstomind.

The Association of Canadian Studies and the Canada Council sponsored Penn’s reading tours throughout India and Brazil. Other tours to Germany and Britain have been sponsored by the Canada Council as well.

Penn has performed at arts festivals and conferences around the world, including 2 Findhorn Arts Festivals and the Glastonbury Goddess Conference. She is the Canada Council writer-in-residence at the University of Western Ontario, 2009-10. Her project for this residency is the just-released DVD.

Event 16 • Workshop 2