MOOR POETS WORKSHOP PROGRAMME

Susan Taylor & Simon Williams -
'Spirit of the Land and Language'

SATURDAY 11 SEPTEMBER 10 - 4 PM

Venue: The Classroom, Stover Country Park, Stover (1/4 mile off A38 on A38 2 towards Newton Abbot)

Outdoor clothing essential

Ted Hughes wrote of his poem 'The Thought-Fox': 'Long after I am gone, as long as a copy of this poem exists, every time anyone reads it, the fox will get up somewhere out of the darkness and come walking towards them.'

A poetry study and writing day on the Ted Hughes Poetry Trail at Stover Country Park, with Susan Taylor and Simon Williams. The Trail consists of sixteen specially designed poetry posts, each featuring a Hughes poem. We will begin by walking the trail, which is a level pathway and takes about two hours. The park is a wildlife haven for many species, including water birds and dragonflies, which bring to life the themes of the Hughes poems.

In the classroom at the on-site Nature Interpretation Centre we will explore the craftsmanship and dedication which made Hughes 'a guardian spirit of the land and language.'

Susan and Simon have long felt an affinity with the voice of Ted Hughes, due to their work at the Arvon Foundation when he was a presiding presence there.

Susan Taylor (MA Creative Writing) has run workshops for Plymouth Museum, Torbay Poetry Festival, Ways With Words and many others. Her five published poetry collections, include 'The Complete Bearded Stranger' of which Ted Hughes said: 'It offers a whole space of: delicate patterns, and connections and glimpses, very present and alive, full of watchful pleasure.'

Simon Williams has four published collections. He has co-led many poetry and creative writing workshops and classes, including in schools, colleges and prisons, as well as a number of collaborative performance projects. Together with Susan, he currently runs Birdwood Poets, a weekly open poetry workshop in Totnes.

Becky Gethin - 'Shining a Torch into the Dark'

SATURDAY 09 OCTOBER 10.30 - 4 PM

Venue: Dartmoor Prison Museum, Princetown

The Museum is on the Tavistock road out of Princetown, on the left 200 yards beyond prison entrance. Ample parking.

Book early - places limited.

This workshop will look through a different window onto the moor whose wild, contradictory nature is often an inspiration for poets. The museum reveals some bleak realities of a slowly evolving justice system from the beginning, when the isolated Dartmoor Depot was first built to hold prisoners-of-war, to when the buildings were turned into a Convict Gaol and later, when First World War conscientious objectors were imprisoned there, as were some notorious criminals. Taking the raw material of images, letters and objects to be found at the museum, we will explore ways to turn them into poems that reflect a darker and very human side of Dartmoor.

Becky Gethin's first collection River is the Plural of Rain was published by Oversteps Books last year and she is currently a tutor of creative writing in Dartmoor prison.

THE ABOVE WORKSHOP IS NOW FULLY BOOKED

Kim Clancy & Pat Fleming - Writing That Reconnects

SUNDAY 24 OCTOBER 10.00 - 4.00pm

Venue: Sharpham House

We’ll be working both inside and outside in the beautiful estate of Sharpham House beside the River Dart, on a cycle of writing exercises that engage with and explore our feelings and responses to what we see is happening to our planet, to life on earth and to ourselves. We will look at how we habitually respond to the contradictions and challenges of the present time, and how our writing and reflection can open up a sense of engagement and aliveness. This work has come out of the Work that Reconnects, developed by Buddhist social activist and teacher Joanna Macy, with whom Kim and Pat have worked extensively. Kim has been a teacher, lecturer and group facilitator for 25 years. She has practiced Buddhism for 20 years and co-ordinates the Mindfulness in Education programme at Sharpham House. Pat initiated Moor Poets some years ago, and currently lives and works on south Dartmoor, whilst studying conservation botany and researching medicinal plants. She’s facilitated Work That Reconnects and deep ecology workshops around the world since 1984.

Workshop Fees: By donation, with a suggested £10 - 25 for all day, £5 - 15 for a half day.

Subscriptions: All workshops are for members of Moor Poets, so if you're not already a member, your first workshop fee will also automatically make you a member for this year. Membership renewals can be paid at any workshop; for 2010 the fee is unchanged at £7.

Bring With You: Pens and paper, and a packed lunch if coming for a full day. Tea and coffee is available. If appropriate, please bring outdoor wear (even sunscreen!) suitable for the weather and month on Dartmoor.

YOUR PLACE ON WORKSHOPS MUST BE BOOKED IN
ADVANCE - NUMBERS ARE OFTEN LIMITED.