By Jim Knippenberg
The Cincinnati Enquirer

IF YOU GO

What: Writing Your Roots workshop taught by Pauletta Hansel and Ren McKitric. For women 13 and older. When: 2-6 p.m. Saturday.Where: Pendleton Heritage Center, 2760 Eastern Ave., East End. Price: $50. Reservations recommended. Information: 272-1171, Web site

One thing they believe in at Women Writing for (a) Change is that words have power. Positive power. As founder Mary Pierce Brosmer once put it, women "write themselves into newer and different lives."

Sounds almost like therapy and, in a way, it is. The emphasis in the group's workshops and classes is on bolstering self-confidence and self-esteem. Through writing, women are encouraged to explore where they've been, where they are and where they're going.

Founded in 1991, it offers classes, workshops and retreats for females from grade-schoolers to grannies. The centerpiece is the six semester-length classes offered twice a year.

Some students are professional writers but most are simply women who want to explore their untapped writing skills. They create journals, write poetry and fiction, draft plays and memoirs, and even work on technical handbooks. The women share their work, get feedback, rewrite and share some more.

What ties them together is a love for and desire to write. "Imagine," says instructor Pauletta Hansel. "These are women who have never shared their writings, and here they are sharing their journals... it's really remarkable."

The organization's foundation specializes in less-intensive Saturday workshops, such as this weekend's Writing Your Roots, that are open to all.

Those not quite ready to take the plunge, can listen to "Women Writing for a Change on the Radio" (11 a.m. Sundays, WVXU-FM 91.7).

E-mail jknippenberg@enquirer.com