This tutored retreat is designed for a limited number of writers to work intensively with a focus on individual sessions to help them develop a body of work. This will involve looking in detail at work in progress, as well as building on strengths and considering future directions. Each writer will have an individual 30 minute tutorial every day, Tuesday – Friday. There will be a 60 minute introductory group workshop on Monday after tea, 5.30 – 6.30pm. Open to all serious about taking their poetry to the next level.
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Tutor: Mimi Khalvati – Poet Mimi Khalvati was born in Tehran, Iran and has lived most of her life in London. She has published nine collections with Carcanet Press, including The Meanest Flower, shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize 2007, and Child: New and Selected Poems 1991-2011, a Poetry Book Society Special Commendation. Her Very Selected Poems appeared from Smith/Doorstop in 2017. She has held fellowships at the International Writing Program in Iowa, the American School in London and at the Royal Literary Fund, and her awards include a Cholmondeley Award from the Society of Authors and a major Arts Council Writer’s Award. She is the founder of the Poetry School and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and of The English Society. Her new book of sonnets, Afterwardness, published by Carcanet in October 2019, is a Poetry Book Society Winter Wild Card. She was awarded the King’s Gold Medal for Poetry 2023 and her Collected Poems was published by Carcanet in 2024. Photo: Caroline Forbes |
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Thursday Evening Guest Reader: Michael Laskey – poet Michael Laskey co-founded and directed the Aldeburgh Poetry Festival through its first decade. He also co-edited fifty issues of the poetry magazine Smiths Knoll. Shortlisted for the T S Eliot Prize and twice PBS recommended, he has published six collections and his Collected Poems is forthcoming in 2026 from Smith/Doorstop. |
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| PRICES |
Fee includes all day and evening tutored workshop sessions, individual tutorials, tutor and guest readings, accommodation, inc. sheets and towels and all meals (not including alcohol). Single – En-suite room £1,150 |
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| TO BOOK |
£200 deposit payable on booking by bank transfer, PayPal or cheque, to secure place. Balance due six weeks before the start of the course. Please see Terms and Conditions. |
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| STRUCTURE OF THE WEEK | See Structure of the Week (tab above) | |||||
| WHAT TO BRING |
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| START TIME |
Please arrive between 3:00pm and 4:00pm on Monday 11th May 2026 Tea, cake and housekeeping information 4.30pm Introductory Workshop 5.30 – 6.30pm |
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| END TIME |
After breakfast, 10:00am on Saturday 16th May 2026 |
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| LOCATION | The Garsdale Retreat, Clough View, Garsdale Head, Sedbergh, Cumbria LA10 5PW Nearest railway station: Garsdale, on the Leeds – Carlisle line. For directions, see Find Us section on the Contact page. |
All Tutored Retreats start on Monday afternoon.
3.00 – 4.00pm: Arrival time.
4.30pm: Housekeeping/Tutored Retreat information with tea and cake
5.30 – 6.30pm: Introductory workshop
7.00pm: Dinner
All tutored retreats end after breakfast on Saturday (10.00am).
Mimi Khalvati Tutored Retreat Structure Tuesday – Friday
8.00 – 9.00am: Breakfast
All participants on this tutored retreat have a 30 minute individual tutorial, each day, Tuesday – Friday. A timetable will be prepared, in advance, in conjunction with the tutor. Individual times will vary each day but they will start at 9.30am.
11.00 – 11.30am: Coffee break
1.00pm Lunch
4.30pm: Tea and cake
7.00pm: Dinner
Each evening, at 8.30pm, there is an after-dinner event:
Tuesday – the tutor will read from their work.
Wednesday – poetry/music performance from Hamish and Rebecca.
Thursday – reading from a guest writer.
Friday – a shared reading of the ‘work-in-progress’ anthology produced during the week.
