Abroad Writers' Conference, Dublin, December '15

This one is some time off but just to say I will be giving an intensive two day poetry workshop (on 17th-18th December) at Butler's Townhouse as part of the Abroad Writers' Conference. As I understand it, natives of Dublin (or elsewhere in Ireland) can sign up for individual workshops and, of course, the full programme of events if they choose, though early booking is recommended! You can get the full details and contact information at the webpage below:

http://abroadwritersconference.com/2015-2/dublin-ireland-dec-12-19-2015/

Butler's Townhouse, Dublin

The authors I am truly honoured to be teaching (or reading) beside are:

JOHN BANVILLE — MAN BOOKER PRIZE WINNER and FRANZE KAFKA Prize

KEVIN BARRY — EUROPEAN UNION PRIZE for LITERATURE and ROONEY PRIZE for Irish Literature

JOHN BOYNE — #1 NEW YORK TIMES Bestseller

MARY COSTELLO — THE BEST IRISH BOOK OF 2014

MEDBH MCGUCKIAN - Alice Hunt Bartlett Prize, ROONEY PRIZE, short-listed POETRY NOW 

JACQUELYN MITCHARD — #1 NEW YORK TIMES Bestseller, BRAM STOKER Award and THE SHIRLEY JACKSON AWARD

JOSIP NOVAKOVICH - 2013 MAN BOOKER PRIZE FINALIST

RUTH PADEL – 5 time winner of UK National Poetry Competition, shortlisted TS Eliot Prize 

ETHEL ROHAN — BRYAN MacMAHON SHORT STORY AWARD winner

GABRIELLE SELZ — 2015 BEST MEMOIR AWARD, AMERICAN SOCIETY OF JOURNALIST & AUTHORS

BRITT TISDALE STATON - Psychotherapist and Creativity Consultant

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Here's a brief outline of the Workshop I will be giving at the conference on 17-18^th December, 2015

“Gravity’s Angel”

  

This workshop is aimed at those who have already written poetry and would like to explore in more depth both the general strategies that can be applied to approaching subject matter and the more technical aspects of how the music of the poem can be used to ‘enact’ the meaning of the work. The morning sessions will be devoted to exploring certain key concepts, using examples from poems as the basis for discussion among the participants, the spirit of which will be far more interactive than didactic. The afternoon sessions will be given over to work-shopping individual poems put forward by members of the group. The main thing is that there will be a relaxed ambiance through both morning and afternoon session and that we all enjoy it!

DAY 1: ‘Stillness, Movement’

In this session I’d like to explore the ways in which the music of poetry (rhythm and sound) can help to enact the ‘meaning’ of a given piece, including rhythmic techniques to create harmony or tension (or both at different points) in a poem, and musical techniques that again aid in reflecting the feeling, subject and tone of a given work.

DAY 2: ‘Image & Idea’

This session will focus on the ways in which concepts can be explored in poetry by employing different strategies as required. As someone who has extensively written poetry about science, I’d like to look at some approaches that can be useful in making such ideas move beyond mere abstraction. For me, I always try to avoid using footnotes for such poems and believe pieces should carry their own meaning and be comprehensible to a non-specialist. These notions and strategies naturally apply to ideas beyond science also.

Afternoon Sessions:

The afternoon sessions will be devoted to work-shopping material from the group. Such sessions always throw up unexpected questions and discussions around given poems and the only requirement is that they are undertaken in a spirit of mutual respect and good grace. We learn from each other.

Contact: Nancy Gerbault for more details at: nancy@abroadwritersconference.com

My website: noelduffy.net