Winter Workshops 2014

Well I’ve got the winter workshops lined up at last. Drumroll please!

The first one is a masterclass on linebreaks (well you knew that was coming, didn’t you!), held on Saturday 26th July. We’ll be looking at the different things you can do with linebreaks – drama, pacing, rhythm, meaning, tension, enjambment, parsing – you name it. It’s more of a seminar than a workshop – a lot of me talking, or showing things on the projector. But a lot of discussion too, I hope, and some bits of writing, to put things into practice as we go. I’ve kept the cost as low as I really can – $20. The minimum number for it to go ahead at that price is 12 people, and I’ve set the maximum at 20. You can read more about it on the Workshops for 2014 page, and download a poster of it here.

The second one is a Reading for Writing class looking at Shakespeare and the English Sonnet. It’s mostly going to be focussed on Shakespeare’s sonnets, but we’ll also be looking at how the English sonnet came into being, and how it has developed. So there will be plenty of other poets – historical and modern – and the usual mad range of writing exercises. I’ve got funding from the Christchurch City Council Creative Communities Fund for this one (hooray!), so I’m offering it at the very reasonable price of $40 for four sessions. Minimum is 12, maximum is 20. Again, you can read more about it on the Workshops for 2014 page, and download your own poster of it here.

I’m quite looking forward to these two. They’ll give me an excuse to wallow in two of my favorite books – James Longenbach’s The Art of the Poetic Line and Don Paterson’s Reading Shakespeare’s Sonnets: A New Commentary. (I highly recommend both of them.) Then there’s the marvellous app that faber have created …

Anyhow, you know the drill. Email me if you have any questions, or if you want to sign up. And do it sooner, rather than later! I actually had a full house and a waiting list for the last class. (Note to self – you are not an airline. Do not double-book!)