Ventura author Amada Irma Perez offer love-seekers with tips on how to express themselves in writing. Photo by Arturo Perez.
Ventura author offers new opportunities to display your love
By Frank X. Moraga / Amigos805
Finding just the right words to express your emotions can be a challenging proposition. For Ventura author Amada Irma Perez, the written word provides a wealth of opportunities to show the one you love how deeply you care about them.
Perez will be offering love-seekers tips on how to express themselves when she presents “The Exquisite Art of Writing: Rediscover Romance and Enhance Family/Friend Relationships” at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 10 at the Museum of Ventura County. Perez, along with fused-glass artist Fran Elson, are the featured speakers in the museum’s new “An Afternoon of Arts & Lecture” series. Elson will begin the program at 1 p.m. Perez said her presentation will feature an “afternoon tea and a delightful writing experience.”
She will be sharing details from her letters, journals and diaries to help participants discover new ways to express their sentiments.
“I have different practices that involve writing in journals and letters,” she said. “I have special ways of doing that so I want to share with others what kind of things they can do to make their writing more loving and romantic.”
Perez is a former bilingual educator and has written numerous bilingual children’s books, including “Nana’s Chicken Coop Surprise” and “My Diary from Here to There.”
While modern society has embraced technology, there is a place for the traditional notecard and pen.
“It’s all about communication, but there is something about writing from your heart,” Perez said. “Your pen is connected to your heart. Your emotions flow from your heart to your pen. I usually write with a fountain pen and there is a romance to it. It’s much more beautiful to receive something that has been handwritten by someone else. Something you can smell, hold it close to your heart, tuck it away in a special place. Technology loses some of its staying power.”
Participants can get in the writing mood by purchasing some of the items available at the museum’s gift store, she said.
“They will have lots of different and beautiful journals of all sizes and pens for purchase,” she said. “But if people are more comfortable with modern technology, they can bring those to the event.”
Perez said her love for the written word comes from her youth.
“I have been writing since I was 8 years old,” she said. “I first started writing letters to relatives in Mexico. It was that need for communication, that need for connection.”
While she prefers writing by hand, she says even modern technology can play a role in romantic writing.
“That’s how communication is with the younger generation,” she said. “They communicate with Facebook and texting. Even emails are becoming a thing of the past. It’s faster to tweet, but it is still communication. It’s a need to say something truly meaningful.
“We have a lot to learn from youngsters,” she said. “They do things differently from our generation, but it is still about communication. Whether is LOL or OMG, they are still expressing thoughts and emotions. It is still important and everyone likes to express their love in some way.”
Perez hopes to expand the idea of romantic writing from just one day to a lifetime activity.
“While Valentine’s Day is a celebration of love, it shouldn’t be just one day, but everyday,” she said.
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> “The Exquisite Art of Writing: Rediscover Romance and Enhance Family/Friend Relationships” will be presented at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 10 at the Museum of Ventura County, 100 E. Main St., downtown Ventura. Admission is $5 for the general public and free to museum members. Call 805-653-0323 or visit www.venturamuseum.org for more information.