Virtual Poetry Retreat
Led by Jonny Walker and Ross & Felicity from The Writing for Pleasure Centre
Monday 26th – Friday 30th October 2020
We are very excited to launch our first Poetry Retreats for adults – and this is one is virtual!
Many of us might have wanted a getaway in October half-term, but with things being as they are, this is difficult.
Do not fear. We can provide you with a week of enjoyment, creativity, reflection and connectedness, even over Zoom!
You will be able to join in with as much or as little as you like, and all sessions will be recorded, so you can access them later. Live is, of course, better, as you can then connect with others in our writing community.
Our retreat runs from Monday to Friday and has three main elements. Each day contains:
- Two hours of poetry retreat activities, led by Jonny Walker. These are designed to build your confidence to write, to think differently, to focus on small and significant details, and to enjoy the playfulness of toying with language. Jonny will be joined by a guest poet on Wednesday and a headteacher on Friday.
- An hour and a half workshop led by Ross Young and Felicity Ferguson, from The Writing For Pleasure Centre. Their five ‘Living the Writer-Teacher Life’ sessions explore ways in which we can create a genuine community of writers in our classrooms.
- As a little extra, on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, we are offering a very relaxed and leisurely ‘Open Mic’ space online, where we can chat, share our writing, develop our ideas and idle away our time with tea and (cyber)biscuits.
The session overview can be found below – you are welcome to attend all sessions, but are not obliged to do so; each of them is standalone.
All you will need is a stable internet connection, the ability to get onto Zoom, some paper to write on, some pens and a bit of time.
In total then, this gives you the chance to access nearly 20 hours of time just for you – time to think, time to reflect, time to laugh, time to learn, and time to write.
The cost is just £60 per person, and we cannot wait to build a writers’ community with you.
The Week
- Ross and Felicity’s ‘Living the Writer Teacher Life’ Workshops – 10:30- 12:00
- Jonny’s ‘Poetry Retreat’ sessions – 13:00 – 15:00
- The Writers’ Lounge – 21:00 – 22:00 (Tues, Thurs and Fri)
Day One – Monday 26th October
- 10:30 – 12:00 – Teaching Writing: Teaching the Writing Process
- 13:00 – 15:00 – Poetry Retreat: Opening Ourselves To Poetry
Day Two – Tuesday 27th October
- 10:30 – 12:00 – Teaching Writing: Using your own writing as a mini-lesson
- 13:00 – 15:00 – Poetry Retreat: Seeing Things Differently
- 21:00 – 22:00 – The Writers’ Lounge and Open Mic
Day Three – Wednesday 28th October
- 10:30 – 12:00 – Teaching Writing: Sharing mentor texts
- 13:00 – 15:00 – Poetry Retreat: The anecdote as a poetic seed (with Adisa the Verbalizer)
Day Four – Thursday 29th October
- 10:30 – 12:00 – Teaching Writing: Read, Share, Think and Talk About Writing in Class
- 13:00 – 15:00 – Poetry Retreat: Rhyme, Rhythm, Structure and Freedom
- 21:00 – 22:00 – The Writers’ Lounge and Open Mic
Day Five – Friday 30th October
- 10:30 – 12:00 – Teaching Writing: Create a community of writers
- 13:00 – 15:00 – Poetry Retreat: Nature, People, The World Outside
- 21:00 – 22:00 – The Final Writers’ Lounge and Open Mic