Lost Words and Invented Ones

Collage - Lost Words

In May I attended various AWA workshops for their Writing Around the World monthly. Every day of the month AWA facilitators facilitate an AWA workshop. I attended ten of them, and one of them with Kimberly Lee, writer, AWA and SoulCollage facilitator facilitated the following workshop Strange Words--Writing with the Lost, Unusual & Untranslatable!

We drafted stories using lost, unusual, and untranslatable words, and I was so delighted. I have always loved words, particularly the ones that are lost and no longer used, or those created in my dreams.

Since then, I have been reading books on such words, and dreaming of words that do not exist, and even worlds that do not exist, but may exist in another real.

The other night, I lay in bed and thought about how language is constantly changing to reflect the social and technological changes in our lives. Unfamiliar words come into being and give voice to experiences that did not exist a decade ago.

I recently heard of Textiety-the feeling of anxious anticipation while waiting for a response to a text message. It is a word that captures the emotional stakes attached with our dependence on digital interaction. Language is always changing, often in a playful yet poignant way, to fit our needs.

At Inksite, much of my reflection considers how words link us not only to ourselves but also to others. Naming a fleeing emotion or documenting some shared experience gives words the power to anchor us in our present while exposing us to new ways of seeing.

Now it is your turn:

What words would you make up to describe your experience? It is that the emotion is hard to find words for or a moment that feels particularly modern. Language is a collaborative art form that is ever in flux-what you contribute counts. Let us keep the tapestry of words going together.

—Annecy Báez

I am an educator, psychotherapist, mixed media collage artist, and the author of "My Daughter’s Eyes and Other Stories." As a facilitator for SoulCollage® and Amherst Writers & Artists (AWA), I integrate energy healing, dreamwork, and writing to promote growth and connection. My work with individuals and groups is focused on empowering people to embrace their unique stories and tap into the healing power of creativity and self-expression.