In this blog post, we share a glimpse of the impactful work undertaken by Gail Soffer, the Executive Director of the Mindful Veteran Project who led Into the Underworld and Back – Women’s Stories of Making Their Way Back from Death and Darkness (sparked by versions of the Orpheus & Eurydice story). This project presented a series of workshops that invited women of all ages and backgrounds to read, view, and discuss various reinterpretations of Orpheus and Eurydice’s myth. Into the Underworld’s participants crafted prose poetry and art from their own experiences as veterans and civilians. They prepared responses to this ancient myth’s retelling that culminated with a panel discussion at the Los Angeles Opera’s performance of Eurydice and a reading and discussion event at the Pasadena American Legion Post #13.
Into the Underworld and Back – Women’s Stories of Making Their Way Back from Death and Darkness (sparked by versions of the Orpheus & Eurydice story) is supported by a Humanities for All Quick Grant. To learn more about this project, visit mindfulveteranproject.org.