Creative Workshops 2008
May Writing Newsletter
quick now, here, now, always
a condition of complete simplicity
costing not less than everything (TS Eliot)
Dear writer
Frank McCourt (Angela’s Ashes)
in his memoir, Teacher Man, tells how he struggled to reach children to
write in down and out schools. Then one
day he “had an epiphany” as he observed how creative they became when they
wrote their own excuse notes. e.g. “Mickey’s grandmother fell down the stairs
after too much coffee…” So McCourt asked
the children to write excuse notes – Adam to God…Eve to God… and they were
naturals.
A story:
An elderly monk and a disciple are
travelling and come to a tree where they rest. As they share their meal, the disciple asks, “ >From where can I can I enter Zen?”
The
old monk responds,
“Can you hear the sounds of that distant river?” The young one listens intensely and
then nods. The old monk raises a finger, “Enter Zen from
there.”
They carry on walking and after a good
while, the disciple asks, “ Master, how would you have responded if I had said that I could not hear the
river?” Once more the sage holds up his finger
and whispers, “
Then enter Zen from there.”
I wish to place McCourt’s memoir
and the monk story alongside a few lines from David Wagoner’s poem Lost:
Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you
Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here,
And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,
Must ask permission to know it and be known.
The forest breathes. Listen. It answers,
I have made this place around you.
If you leave it, you may come back again, saying Here.
All three texts talk about where we find the hidden entrance to
the cave of writing. We scratch the
first simple Zen word on the wall. It calls the next one. Here. Now. In this place. Begin here.
Dorian’s Workshops
Somerset West
Sat 10 May
Once Upon
a Life. Writing your story. for U3A
Helderberg (University of the Third Age consists or elders offering their
teaching and leaning) no change… need to
join U3A.
Franschhoek Literary Festival: Exchanging Energies: Writing your Book
R190
Sun 18 May 09.30 – 13.00 ( note the Sun not the Sat as
advertised in Festival webpage)
venue: Club House La Petite Provance .. on the way into
F’hoek...left side ...main drag
This workshop is about writing that
book that has been hiding inside you for too long. Writing is about a
conversation with yourself and with others. An exchange of energies. Writing is a
skill not talent. In
the course you will breathe life into the words and engage a reader while
allowing creative space. Book through me.
Durban In the Belly of the
Wale: words, images, stories and
healing
Sun 25 May 09.30 -15.30
R400
I love metaphor. It provides two loaves where there seems to be one. Sometimes it
throws in a load of fish. (Bernard Malamud)
This workshop (rich in metaphors) aims to enrich the personal
experience and work of any one involved in the healing professions. It
considers how attention to this mytho-poetic world creates a more abundant life
and opens us to healing.
contact Cathy Haselau cathyhaselau@mweb.co.za 031 205 5955
Durban The first bare line: Writing Poetry
Sun 25 May 17.30 to 20.30 R180
workshop through Live Poet’s
Society (John Ballam) johnballam@telkomsa.net
...something ignited in my soul
fever or unremembered wings?
and I went my own way
deciphering that burning fire ...
and wrote my first bare line
pure foolishness, pure wisdom
who knows? of one who knows nothing
and suddenly I felt the heavens
unfastened and opened. (Neruda)
In the workshop as we search for words
and images, we seek the fire that Neruda writes of. The condition of
grace from which words rise as flames.
Bring a plate of eats to share and your own drinks'
Guest poet Tues 27 June at Live Poet’s
Society in the evening
theme:
“A Stone in a Pond: Poetry Ripples
and Circles?'
on on into Winter fare
Sun 15 June 2 hour mid day slot CCC Cape Town International Book
Fair no cost
I have learned that stories are powerful. You can hide
the positive in your heart and take it out when you are scared or
broken-hearted. Stories give you a way of talking about your problems. (a
caregiver)
Stories feed the heart, mind and
spirit. This talk focuses on how to use
writing, story-telling, symbols and creative modalities to tell and elicit
stories.
Egoli
17-20 July - a series of workshops and interactive speaking
engagements related to Frankl’s work and our search for aliveness and
meaning. Contact Coral
Wilder coralw@telkomsa.net 011 622-8793
083 450-9148. One of the workshops is:
Finding the Fire: Rekindling our passion for life and work
I know that there is room in me for a second huge and
timeless life (Rilke)
We enter the world of story to recover our creativity, zest,
energy and passion. We search for a myth to sustain and transform us as
we ask, the poet T S Eliot’s question, “Where is the life we have lost in
living?” We consider how attention to life stories and fiction, so rich in
image, symbol and rhythm, can create a more abundant life. The workshop uses
collage work, journaling, visualisation, observation and other modalities to
inspire us.
Pretoria In the Belly of the
Wale: words, images, stories and
healing
9-10 Aug
(refer to description above for
Workshop run in conjunction with South African Society of
Clinical Hypnosis (SASCH)
(sasch
@ianopperman.com 011
622 1598 086 671 8552)
Ixopo
Zen Pen: Writing and Meditation
15-17
August –at Buddhist Retreat Centre. brcixopo@futurenet.co.za 039 834 1863
details soon on the site.
www.brcixopo.co.za
Hogsback East Cape– Writing, Reflecting, Being
Mon 24 – Fri 28 Nov
Join East Cape poets Cathal Lagan and
Brain Walter and
Other story telling/ writing activities for organisations
Upington and White River co-ordinating a Storywell team, training
caregivers in creative modalities to tell and prompt stories from children
infected/affected by HIV/AIDS and to offer them psycho/social support. (other
Team members: Elma Pollard, Philippa Kabali-Kagwa, Toto Gxabela)
Olso
Oct/Nov. Stories and leadership in Norway Oct/Nov
Mentoring
I continue as caddy on the writing course,
suggesting which club for which hole. Watching folks choosing courses, playing
exciting shots, getting in and out of the rough, sinking that putt.
5-
Email Courses
Some folks respond to structure,
assignments and seek writing companions… join writes from the great anywhere…
Write Write Write: Writers’ Development: Email
Course (WWW)
Good news. Elma is back.
Elma Pollard, whose
weekly earth column in the Bolander, is getting much acclaim, facilitates this course. There have been requests for
follow-up courses so Elma has created wwwfollow1. Want to craft stories? New
intake every month. Elma combines life
and writing coaching - an enabling process. (starlight@wol.co.za. 084 868 2908) see her new site www.greencoach.co.za courtesy of my son Dominic.
Poetry
for Publication (PFP)
Bob and I guide you in writing and selecting your poems for
a solo self publication. Anne-Marie Moore is compiling a collection, Grace note moments Preludes and Poems.
Two
Books a coming (repeat
info)
The Halo and the Noose, the Power of story-telling and story
listen in Business Life with Graham
Williams is at the checking stage. We run corporate story workshops based on
our book. (look at my site for details.)
The Achilles Heal, The Healing Art and Craft of
Poetry with Bob Commin will be out early
2009.
Workshops/Literary
Events with other Folk
Bob
Commin (poet,
creativity coach , storyteller and pastor) runs poetry courses/events in the
Southern Suburbs (
Come, come whoever you are, wanderer, worshipper
Lover of leaving, It doesn't matter (Rumi)
Spirituality Group
will get underway Tues 13 May at 7.30 pm. First meeting
the home of Mandy Young,
Working with the Artist’s Way Join this creative project on Tuesday afternoons from 16.00 -18.00
and rediscover and nurture your own
creativity. Fish Hoek
Bob is also designing a new format for
the two email poetry courses that we have been running Poem Poem Poem (PPP) Making Poetry
and The Poet’s
Voice (PVC) Advanced
Writing Course. From
June 08 he will be taking over these courses.
Writer-sites and News
Samantha
Layton-Matthews has sent me Paulo Coelho’s site
–www.warriorofthe light.com. another conversation about writnv. Thank you Sam
Helen Brain, author, has begun writing for a Canadian
web-zine (specifically about writing for children) see link at: http://writingforchildren.suite101.com/
Mandy Lebides’ www.
writescape.com is alive and well. Thanks Mandy
Source new opportunities every month. Check out Lee Cahill’s www.sabookworm.com Thanks you
Lee for a site that informs and supports writers. This is writer good news.
Wordsetc A South African Literary Journal Loosely based on the
idea of The New Yorker, this is a new literary journal to look out for.
Writers need to read as part of self-tutorship. I suggest you
subscribe to New Contrast (poetry and prose) – 4 copies per annum for
R210. Hugh Hodge, the editor is doing a fine job for writers. Thank you
Hugh. newcontrasted@gmail.com
If you have a need, an inspiration,
let’s create a workshop. Have story wagon, will travel.
May words whisper “Quick. Here. Now.”
Dorian
PS Thank you to all those who circulate this letter.
Dr Dorian Haarhoff
021 855 3937 / 082 873 6802/ fax 086 511 4751
http://dorianhaarhoffwriter.homestead.com