Hi, I'm really looking forward to spending time on Skyros island in Greece, running workshops in poetry and fiction (see below) for Skyros Holidays.A little bit about me...
Kevan Manwaring is a writer, teacher and storyteller who lives in Bath. Holder of an MA in the Teaching and Practice in Creative Writing from Cardiff University, he teaches creative writing part-time for the Open University. He also runs freelance courses in storytelling and various aspects of the writing process to a wide variety of students.
As a professional storyteller he has appeared in numerous shows both solo and with Fire Springs, both in Britain and abroad (USA, Italy and Malta). He is the author of The Bardic Handbook, Lost Islands, the ongoing Windsmith books and his poems and articles have appeared in several magazines and anthologies. In 1998 he won the Bardic Chair in his adopted city. He co-runs the Bath Writers' Workshop & is the founder of Awen Publications. He runs a monthly spoken word showcase (Garden of Awen).
In 2010 Kevan is a Writer-in-Resident at El Gouna, a resort on the Red Sea, for the whole of May, where he'll spend time working on a desert-based novel project. His new collection of poetry, The Immanent Moment, is published in February by Awen. In June, The Way of Awen: journey of a bard, is published by O Books. He is currently working on a book about calendrical customs, seasonal rites and sacred time as he travels the country, a Bard on a Bike.
Find out more on my website www.kevanmanwaring.co.uk
About my courses...
SKYROS WRITERS’ LAB with Kevan Manwaring 29 AUG – 11 SEP 2010 (WL10)
WK 1. WRITING POETRY – THE GRIT IN THE OYSTER
Poetry is the foundation of all good writing – at its best it is the most efficient and effecting form of written communication. Whether you are an aspiring poet, novelist or non-fiction writer, your writing will benefit from learning the discipline, precision and power of poetry. Writing from the heart, via accessible and engaging activities, you’ll bypass any technical anxieties to create poetry with passion. Over the week we’ll work with personal ‘grits in the oyster’ – experiences, insights, snapshots of time – to create ‘pearls’ to be proud of. Stunning setting and sensual experiences will provide inspiration – with senses fully alive, you’ll fill your well of poetry to the brim and share its contents in supportive and constructive workshop sessions.
WK 2. LIFE: FICTION – TRANSFORMING THE PERSONAL INTO THE PUBLISHABLE
Upgrade your fiction in this week exploring the possibilities of autobiographical material in short story and novel-writing. Whatever genre you are working in, this approach will give your writing greater authenticity and emotional depth. How far you fictionalise is up to you – but by drawing on life experience, you are giving yourself a head start. With life as research, nothing is wasted. Even the most painful of experiences can be redeemed by writing – and others can benefit from hard-won lessons. How much you wish to disclose is up to you – all will be transformed through the lens of fiction, affording the personal and the private a degree of protection. Looking at character, setting, dialogue, plot, point of view, themes and tone in the light of our own ‘personal research database’ will enrich them all – transforming your writing into something resonant and distinctive.
See www.skyros.com for more about Skyros' Writers' Lab, named by The Guardian as 'No 1 of the World's Five Best Writing Holidays'. Call 01983 865566 to secure your place on Kevan's course. Yoga, massage treatments, and music & arts courses are also part of the holiday.
