From whistleblowing bestsellers by doctors to Norwegian experiments in writing about daily life, the genre of life writing is bigger and broader than ever. This course will look at the many and diverse ways you can write about your life or other peoples’. For example, how truthful can/should you be in presenting yourself in your writing? To what extent can you yourself enter into the telling of another person’s life? Drawing on a wide-ranging series of case studies, and putting these ideas into practice in a series of writing exercises, we will spend the week discussing and deciding on the most suitable way for you to write a life.
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Tutor: Richard Skinner – Writer
Richard Skinner has published three novels with Faber & Faber, including The Red Dancer, a fictional biography of Mata Hari (reissued by Faber in October 2017), and The Velvet Gentleman, a fictional biography of Erik Satie (shortlisted for the Prix Livres & Musiques). He has also written a biography entitled The Busby Babes. Richard is Director of the Fiction Programme at Faber Academy and teaches a week-long ‘Writing Lives’ course. |
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Guest, Wednesday evening: Chitra Ramaswamy – Author/Journalist
Chitra Ramaswamy is a journalist and author. Her latest book, Homelands: The History of a Friendship, published by Canongate in April 2022, is a work of narrative non-fiction exploring her friendship with a 98-year-old German Jewish refugee called Henry Wuga. Her first book, Expecting: The Inner Life of Pregnancy, published by Saraband in April 2016, won the Saltire First Book of the Year Award and was shortlisted for the Polari Prize. She has contributed essays to Antlers of Water, Nasty Women, The Freedom Papers, The Bi:ble, and Message From The Skies. She writes for The Guardian, is the restaurant critic for The Times Scotland, and broadcasts for BBC radio. She lives in Edinburgh with her partner, two children and rescue dog. |
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| PRICES | Fee includes all day and evening tutored workshop sessions, readings, accommodation and full board (not including alcohol).
Single – En-suite room £945 Single – Shared bathroom £895 Shared Room (2 Beds) £845pp – single supplement £50 |
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| TO BOOK | £150 deposit payable on booking by bank transfer, PayPal or cheque, to secure place. Balance due six weeks before the start of the course/tutored retreat/untutored retreat. Please see Terms and Conditions. |
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| INCLUDED |
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| WHAT TO BRING |
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| START TIME |
Please arrive between 3:00pm and 4:30pm on Monday 16th October 2023 |
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| END TIME |
After breakfast, 10:00am on Saturday 21st October 2023 |
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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. |
Courses
The Garsdale Retreat provides an inspiring place to develop as a writer. Our courses offer opportunities for new, emerging and experienced writers. The tutors, all professional writers, lead workshops and also give one-to-one tutorials to help the individual student. In the remote and beautiful setting of The Yorkshire Dales, The Garsdale Retreat gives a wonderful opportunity to escape from the daily stresses of life and to draw inspiration from fellow students, tutors and the landscape itself.
All courses start on Monday afternoon, arrival time 3.00 – 5.00pm. On this first day, tea and cake are at 4.30pm followed by an introductory/ice-breaking workshop 5.45 – 6.45pm. Dinner is at 7.00pm. All courses end after breakfast on Saturday (10.00am).
Course Structure
Although there will be slight variations, according to the type of course (see below), students can generally expect the following outline:
8.00 – 9.00am: Breakfast
9.30 – 11.00am: First workshop – Students explore particular aspects of the chosen genre and take part in writing exercises to further their understanding and expertise. All students have opportunities to share their work with the tutor and fellow writers in a safe, supportive and nurturing environment in which individual work is respected and confidence developed.
11.00 – 11.30am: Coffee break
11.30am – 1.00pm: Second workshop
After lunch, participants are free to do whatever they like, such as: relax, go for walks, enjoy The Dales, draw, paint, read or work on individual writing projects.
4.30pm: Tea and cake
5.30 – 6.30pm: Third workshop
7.00pm: Dinner
All students have one individual tutorial of 30 minutes with the tutor in the course of the week which usually takes place at a mutually agreed time, usually in the afternoon.
Each evening, at about 8.30pm, there is an after-dinner event. The precise nature of this varies according to the type of course but participants can typically expect a tutor reading on Tuesday followed by a reading from a guest writer on the Wednesday evening. There is an informal activity on Thursday such as a word/literary game. On Friday, there is a reading of work produced during the week.
Poetry Course Anthology
An integral part of poetry courses is the production of an anthology of writing produced in the week. It is, of course, accepted that the writing is essentially work-in-progress. However, the aim of the anthology is to reflect a flavour of the work accomplished on the course and to provide participants with an attractive record of their time at Garsdale. The Retreat stores copies of anthologies in the library, providing pleasure and inspiration for future students.
Tutored Retreats
These follow the same basic structure as above except there is only one workshop in the morning and participants will have a daily tutorial, four per week.
Untutored Retreats
The only formal structure of the week is determined by meal-times (see above), allowing participants to concentrate totally on their own writing. After dinner, participants in conjunction with the course director sometimes organise evening read-rounds of their work /open mics/music /word games. However, participation in such events is entirely voluntary and people are free to continue with their writing in the evenings if they prefer.
