Through a process of studying poems and their techniques, we will create many first drafts of poems. We will then take those first drafts through an editing process to the finished poem. Perfect for those who haven’t produced poems in a while, but also for those trying to extend their body of work. If you are having trouble getting ideas down and finished, then this is also the course for you.
Working from a diverse range of poems, writing workshops with tutor feedback will be the main focus of this well-structured course dedicated to your poetry.
 |
Tutor: Roger Robinson – Poet/Writer/Performer
Roger is a writer who has performed worldwide and is an experienced workshop leader and lecturer on poetry. He has published four books the latest being The Butterfly Hotel on Peepal Tree Press. His one-man shows are: The Shadow Boxer; Letter from My Father’s Brother; and Prohibition. He was chosen by Decibel as one of 50 writers who have influenced the black-British writing canon. He received commissions from The National Trust, London Open House, The National Portrait Gallery, The V&A, INIVA and Theatre Royal Stratford East where he also was associate artist. He is an alumni of The Complete Works. He is currently on a national tour of a two handed theatre show called Mixtape and recently wrote and performed in the immersive political theatre show Rallying Cry at the Battersea Arts Centre. |
||||||||||
 |
Guest, Wednesday evening: Steve Ely – Poet/Writer
Steve Ely has published a novel, some short stories, a biographical work about Ted Hughes and several collections of poetry, most recently Incendium Amoris and Bloody, Proud & Murderous Men, Adulterers & Enemies of God (both 2017). In 2018 he published two chapbooks: Zi-Zi Taah Taah Taah is a sequence of poems about the endangered willow tit and is published by the Wild West Press in partnership with the RSPB and the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. Jubilate Messi is a collection of poems about football is published by Shearsman. Steve teaches creative writing at the University of Huddersfield where he is Director of the Ted Hughes Network. Photo: Jodie Zephyr |
||||||||||
| PRICES | Fee includes all day and evening tutored workshop sessions, readings, accommodation and full board (not including alcohol).
Single – En-suite room £790 |
||||||||||
| TO BOOK | £150 deposit payable on booking by PayPal, bank transfer or cheque, to secure place, balance due six weeks before start of course. Please see Terms and Conditions. |
||||||||||
| INCLUDED |
|
||||||||||
| WHAT TO BRING |
|
||||||||||
| START TIME | Please arrive between 3:00pm and 5:00pm on Monday 21st October 2019. Tea and Cake 4.30pm Introductory Workshop 5.45 – 6.45pm |
||||||||||
| END TIME | After breakfast, 10:00am on Saturday 26th October 2019. | ||||||||||
| 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
5.00 – 6.00pm: 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 student ‘open-mic’ night or 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, depending on the size of the group, participants will have between two and four tutorials 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.
