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| "Light into the olive entered And was oil." James Merrill, "After Greece" |
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Greece and its wealth of history and myth has been an inspiration for poets from the dawn of Western poetry. It is where the Muses, and Western Literature, were born. Join Alicia Stallings and visiting poets for workshops in an idyllic island setting. We will explore how contemporary poetry can flourish rooted in the fertile soil of ancient myth and modern Greece, with attention to both free and traditional forms. Though participants may bring older material for workshopping, the three-week course emphasizes producing drafts of new work. A variety of reading (English poetry and Greek poetry in translation) complements writing assignments, from Homer to Heaney, Cavafy to Merrill. The course is ideal for the teacher of writing as well as the writing student. Past participants have included all levels, from undergraduates majoring in other fields, to older poets with a bevvy of prestigious publications to their credit, people just starting to write, or with a rekindled interest in writing after years of silence. Classes meet from 9 am to 1 pm Monday-Friday, with afternoons and weekends free to muse, read, write, swim, travel, etc. Shorter durations at the workshop are available. In addition to Athens Centre programs, such as Greek Dancing, the poetry program features a festival of evening readings by participants, faculty, and guest poets. Greek and American poets, translators, ex-pat writers, editors and guest lecturers speak on a variety of topics. National Poetry Series winner, Tryfon Tolides, will be among the speakers for 2008. Many speakers are repeat visitors. David Mason was guest faculty for the 2006 session; Rachel Hadas was guest faculty for 2007. Recent guest speakers include Katerina Anghelaki-Rooke, Christopher Bakken, Aliki Barnstone, Tony Barnstone, Jeffrey McDaniel, Maura Stanton, Richard Cecil and Alan Michael Parker. Past speakers at the conference have included Randy Blasing (Copper Beech Press), Rebecca Byrkit, Tassos Denegris, Moira Egan, Annie Finch, Rachel Hadas, Edmund Keeley, John Lucas (Shoestring Press), Nick Papandreou, Adrianne Kalfopoulou, Stephanos Papadopoulos, Diane Thiel, Dan Veach (Atlanta Review), Deborah Warren, Clive Watkins and others. The island of Spetses is a convenient base for travel to Athens, the Peloponnese (Epidaurus, Monemvasia, Nafplio, etc.), and the isles of the Saronic gulf. Spetses has been inhabited since pre-historic times. Its sea captains, among them, the war heroine Bouboulina, fought in the War of Independence against the Turks in 1821. Famed for its architecture, the island is also rich in natural beauty, and crowned with pine forests. John Fowles' novel, The Magus, is set on the island. The poetry retreat is under the aegis of the Athens Centre, a language and cultural center with 30 years of history and experience. Please check their web site for fees and more information. There are bilingual program advisors in Athens and Spetses. Some suggested texts (with links to Amazon.com); a good second-hand mythology guide (Hamilton, Bullfinch, or Graves), is also helpful. Voices from Modern Greece. Edmund Keeley (ed.) Princeton University Press. The Odyssey, translated by Robert Fagles. |
| The Muses Workshop: Poetry Retreat on the Greek Island of Spetses |
| June 15-July 5, 2008 |
| for further details, or to register online, click on the Athens Centre logo above (& scroll down page). |
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| Poetry program director, Alicia Stallings or the Athens Centre staff are happy to answer any questions or concerns via e-mail: A. E. Stallings Athens Centre |
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| "I woke to the world there like Telemachus Young again in the whitewashed light of morning" --Seamus Heaney, "Sonnets for Hellas" |