Poetry and Writing Course, Loutro, Crete

 June 2008
Poetry Course
 with
Mimi Khalvati

Poetry Course 
 with
Ruth Padel

Creative Writing Course
with
Tobias Hill
Creative Writing Course
with
David Swann
June 04 - June 08 June 11 - June 15
September 2008
Poetry Course
 with
Linda Chase

Poetry Course 
 with
Kate Newmann

Creative Writing Course
with
Brenda Mallon
Creative Writing Course
with
Jemma Kennedy
Sept 17 - Sept 21

Sept 24 Sept 28

 

In a setting of outstanding natural beauty, an opportunity to spend time creatively; word spinning, story writing, myth making.  A chance to write, to be inspired, to travel within and explore beyond; to dream deeply and take the dream further. For just a few weeks each year, arts and travel organisation World Spirit is dedicated to exploring the world of Poetry and Writing within the inspiring natural resource of South West Crete - one of the most beautiful parts of Europe.  The village of Loutro is intimate, ancient, friendly, and tranquil - equally good whether alone or in company.  Loutro and it's surrounding environment serves as our centre.  Bounded by this positive, nurturing energy, our writing courses bring together people, experts, ideas and artistic creativity.

 

 

June 2008

 

'BEYOND DESCRIPTION' 
Poetry with Mimi Khalvati
Wednesday June 04 - Sunday June 08, 2008
Meet for Dinner - Tuesday June 03 - 8pm
Course Fee £225

How can you write when you are lost for words? How can you move beyond the merely descriptive into a more meaningful realm? Drawing on the evidence of our senses and extraordinary surroundings, and the inspiration of reading poetry, we will write poems rich in sensuous description but also moving beyond description. There will be workshops, feedback and individual tutorials.



MIMI KHALVATI
is the founder of The Poetry School and a Royal Literary Fund fellow at City University. Her Carcanet collections include Selected Poems (2000) and The Chine (2002). She received a Cholmondeley Award in 2006 and her latest collection, The Meanest Flower, was published in 2007.

www.mimikhalvati.co.uk 




'WRITING A NOVEL: How to get started - and keep going'
Creative Writing with Tobias Hill
Wednesday June 04 - Sunday June 08, 2008
Meet for Dinner - Tuesday June 03 - 8pm
Course Fee £225

A practical course on best practice in novel writing. The course will also look at finding your material, plotting, dialogue and character development, as well as the essentials of all good writing. Suitable for
beginners and for more experienced writers who have got stuck.


TOBIAS HILL
was born in London. He has published four collections of poetry and one of short stories, as well as three novels: The Love of Stones, Underground and The Cryptographer. He is one of Britain’s Next Generation poets, and his novels have been published worldwide. Set in Greece, his fourth novel, The Hidden, will be published by Faber in 2008. He has also just finished writing a book for children with Michael Foreman. He expected himself to grow older and wiser, but now finds himself only odder, and wider.

More Info




'THE JOURNEY OF YOUR POEM' 
Poetry with Ruth Padel
Wednesday June 11 - Sunday June 15, 2008 
Meet for Dinner - Tuesday June 10 - 8pm
Course Fee £225

You start a poem, discover what it is about through writing it, but where do you end up? Prize winning British poet Ruth Padel is renowned not just for her own poems but for accompanying people on the journey of reading other people’s. Join her for a week of inspiring writing exercises that engender new poems and help you to bumpstart, discover and refine your poetry.

 


RUTH PADEL one of Britain’s most distinguished poets, has also written a travel memoir, Tigers in Red Weather, set in Asian tiger jungles, and two poetry best-sellers on reading modern poems, 52 Ways of Looking at A Poem and The Poem and the Journey.


www.ruthpadel.com




'THE SONG OF THE GOAT - Writing fiction in a land of myth'
Creative Writing with David Swann
Wednesday June 11 - Sunday June 15, 2008 
Meet for Dinner - Tuesday June 10 - 8pm
Course Fee £225

Greece gave us our word ‘tragedy’, which means ‘Song of the Goat’. It refers to the bleating of the kid after separation from its mother. Writing under the shadow of Loutro’s goat-entranced hills, we’ll use Crete’s rich tapestry of myth and emotion to journey deep into our imaginations, returning with the characters and imagery that drive great fiction. Expect high standards and good humour, in a course designed for both beginners and experienced writers.

DAVID SWANN was raised a few doors up the street from his childhood neighbour, the author Jeanette Winterson. His stories and poems have won many awards, including four successes in the Bridport Prize. His debut short story collection, ‘The Last Days of Johnny North’ was published by Elastic Press in 2006. He now teaches Creative Writing and English at the University of Chichester.







September 2008




'WAX POETIC, WAX TRAGIC'
Poetry with Linda Chase
Wednesday September 17 - Sunday September 21, 2008
Meet for Dinner - Tuesday September 16 - 8pm
Course Fee  - £225 

“In the first light, wax poetic. In the night, wax tragic” ( Poetry as Insurgent Art: Ferlinghetti 2007 ). Lawrence Ferlinghetti urges us to pick up our pens and take action to safeguard the earth. Write beyond time, he says. Reinvent truth. Moving beyond the first person singular in our writing, we will attempt to encompass bigger issues, but still use the sensitivity realised from personal experience. The intimacy and trust of a small group working together in this beautiful setting can release the courage to write beyond former boundaries. New writers can use this week to discover their own style and voice. Experienced poets can go deeper into content, form and commitment.


LINDA CHASE
an American poet and experienced workshop leader teaches on the Creative Writing MA at Manchester Metropolitan University and is a tutor and the coordinator of the Poetry School, Manchester. Her two collections with Carcanet Press are, The Wedding Spy, (2001) and Extended Family (2006). Her poetry performances are touching, tough and sexy.
www.lindachase.co.uk




'DREAMS, SYMBOLS AND YOUR STORY' 
Creative Writing with Brenda Mallon
Wednesday September 17 - Sunday September 21, 2008
Meet for Dinner - Tuesday September 16 - 8pm
Course Fee  - £225 
   


For absolute beginners or seasoned writers, this course will explore how we can give hidden voices their chance to stir up our everyday world. Using mystical symbols, myths, memories, dreams and wild imagination we will explore the art of making the invisible visible on the page. Start recording your dreams now and bring them with you.


BRENDA MALLON is the author of sixteen books, including Venus Dreaming, Women’s Dreams and Nightmares and A Year of Creativity The latest The Mystic Symbols was published in October 2007. She is an experienced creative writing tutor and internationally recognised dream therapist. Brenda’s recent TV series ‘Dream On’ included interviews with Toyah Wilcox, Brian Keenan and Robin Gibb who all spoke of the importance of dreams in their creativity. Her enthusiasm, sensitivity and penchant for having a good time make her an inspiring workshop leader.
www.brendamallon.com




'A POEM IS A POEM IS A POEM'
Poetry with Kate Newmann
Wednesday September 24 - Sunday September 28, 2008
Meet for Dinner - Tuesday September 23 - 8pm
Course Fee £200  

Loutro is the ancient port of Phoinix, and it is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. What a privilege to be able to arrive by boat, the only way one can arrive, and to be cradled by the hills and sung to by the sea. It is the perfect location for anyone who has a desire to record themselves, to map their feelings and emotions as a human being, to write well, and to achieve what is amazing - a new poem written and shared among people who are also writing new poems.


KATE NEWMANN is a graduate of King’s College Cambridge. She has two collections of poetry, The Blind Woman in the Blue House and Belongings, and a CD, How Well Did You Love? She is writer-in-residence at the Louis MacNeice Centenary in Carrickfergus, County Antrim and is Co-Director of the Summer Palace Press.





'SPARKS INTO STORIES' 
Creative Writing with Kate Newmann
Wednesday September 24 - Sunday September 28, 2008
Meet for Dinner - Tuesday September 23 - 8pm
Course Fee £200


What is my story? is a question that every writer struggles with. This course is designed to help you catch the initial sparks that might fire a piece of great prose and turn them into stories that grip the imagination. Our daily workshops will help you identify your strengths, develop and explore your unique writer’s voice, set narrative goals and help clarify recurring images or themes in your work that can be crafted into fiction. Suitable for beginners and more experienced writers.


JEMMA KENNEDY is novelist and playwright. She has taught many writing courses and workshops including those at the Arvon Foundation and City Lit, and has lectured in fiction and scriptwriting at Manchester Metropolitan University. Her first novel Skywalking (Penguin) was published in 2002. Recent dramatic work includes an adaptation of The Seagull, (Tabard Theatre), Evensong (touring) and an afternoon play for Radio 4.



 





For Whom

All writers are welcome, including new ones. You can use this course as an inspiration for completely new work, or as an opportunity to apply a more critical eye to what you are writing currently. If you have never shown your work or discussed it with others, these weeks will offer a supportive environment to do that. If you are an experienced writer who has already published work, you can use the course as an opportunity to get feed back from the group about your manuscripts in progress. 


Course Details

Courses take place over five days and have a maximum of ten clients.  Morning sessions (approximately 3 hours duration) focus on content, as directed by the course leaders.
Afternoons are free - for further writing or for relaxing, hiking, swimming, sunbathing, reading, chatting etc  

Course based, feedback and work in progress sessions lasting one to two hours take place each evening, perhaps not on one of the middle evening's of each course.  At the discretion of the course leaders, short private tutorials may be offered. Within these arrangements World Spirit fully supports whichever way a tutor conveys their ideas, whether highly structured, or deeply intuitive.

Evenings

Evenings are leisurely and sociable, with course participants tending to meet up at various of the local restaurants and bars.  At the end of each course, we often arrange a night time boat trip to a nearby bay for readings of course work, food, wine, moon, stars etc...

Fortnight's Writing Holiday

The course dates and contents offer maximum flexibility for those staying for two weeks.  You can choose between Poetry and Poetry, Writing and Writing, Poetry and Writing or Writing and Poetry. For those booking two consecutive courses, there is a £50 discount payable on completion.

 

Climate

Apart from an occasional windy cool day, there is a 90 - 95% chance of perfect weather with highs of 27-33° in both June and September.  Evenings and nights can be cooler in June, for which jackets, sweaters and scarves might be appropriate.

 

Course Technicalities

Please bring your own writing machines or materials with you. Please let us know if you are bringing a lap top and a European standard adapter with you. No computers or printers are provided. Please bring any books you would like to use yourself or share with the group. English will be the language of the group.

 

Etc.

Numerous tavernas offer an extremely good level of cuisine with vegetarian options at reasonable prices (€15-30 per day).  A gift shop and a couple of well stocked mini-markets provide fresh food, beach wear, basic commodities and change cash but not credit cards,  Regrettably, the steep inclines and steps around the village are not appropriate for wheelchair use.  Mobile phones work in most of Loutro, and there is a small Internet Cafe.  A stylish bar with laid back music offers a mellow starlit nightlife....



World Spirit is an independent not for profit oragnisation

Budget Guide (excluding flights)

Course Fee
Taxi and ferry transfer return
Accommodation
Food
Local Boat Trips
£225
E70 - E205*
E175 - E245 per week
E125 - E200 per week
E20 per course
Total 1 course 1 week 
£475 - £675
$950 - $1,350
Total 2 courses 2 weeks
£870 - £1,150
$1,740 - $2,300
* Taxi sharing from Chania can often be arranged

 

Loutro Poems

Want to find out more?  Why not read these poems about Loutro from many of our clients?

Ninety six pages, fifty seven poems and thirty eight colour pictures tell the story of Loutro
.

£10.00 + £1.50 p&p

 




For more information, contact World Spirit by email


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