Tag Archives: workshop

CWW 2014 Summer Yoga & Writing Retreat at the Château de Verderonne, France!

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CWW-Verderonne2014The Cambridge Writers’ Workshop Annual Yoga & Writing Retreat will be held from August 7 -20, 2014 at the Château de Verderonne in Picardy, France, located approximately 50 miles north of Paris. The conference features workshops in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, as well as craft of writing seminars, art classes, free time to write, and daily yoga and meditation classes.  Writers of all genres and levels are welcome.  Yoga practitioners of all levels are also welcomed (we have experience adapting the yoga sequences to meet the level of beginner-advanced participants).  Participants are encouraged, but not required, to bring their own long-term projects to work on.  Whether writers are beginners or advanced, CWW workshops have a history of success in generating new writing.

Optional excursions to Paris and Chantilly are also available to participants.  The faculty includes Rita Banerjee, Diana Norma Szokolyai, Elissa Lewis, and Jessica Reidy. The cost of the conference is $3,200, which includes lodging, meals, writing workshops, yoga classes and transportation to and from the airport.

CWW Summer 2013 Yoga & Writing Retreat at the Château de Verderonne

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thumb_verderonneCome join us for our second annual writing retreat in France. This year, we will stay at the Château de Verderonne (45 min from Paris), in a lovely and spacious 17th century manor house.  A French chef will prepare all of our meals on site, and we will dine together in the large kitchen or on the terrace. Enjoy walks through the château at your leisure, take refuge writing in the drawing rooms, or relax in the sprawling gardens.  The ancient discipline of yoga directly benefits the creative process. Yoga heals and strengthens posture and chronic tensions common to writers, making writing time more productive. Calm the nervous system through meditation and breathing exercises.  Writers & Co-Directors of Cambridge Writers’ Workshop Diana Norma Szokolyai and Rita Banerjee will be your guides and help you create the space you need to nurture your writing projects. Certified yoga instructor/visual artist Elissa Lewis will guide participants in daily yoga and meditation exercises.

Translation & the Art of Writing Workshop (June 9 – July 14, 2013)

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translation_course_web“Translation, often a matter of taste, involves factors such as accuracy to the original word and translation of an author’s, even a text’s, style. The cultural literacy needed to understand and translate a joke or a folk saying makes translation a more complex task than plugging words into a translator. In this course students will delve into the art of translation by comparing and contrasting two different versions of five classic works and using translation to inspire and motivate new craft techniques and writing practices within their own work.” – Ian Singleton

The Art of Fiction Workshop (March 17 – May 26, 2013)

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fiction_course_webCreating and developing a character, no matter how autobiographical, is difficult. Though writing down one’s experience may seem easier, in the end a writer has to look closely and objectively at her character. A writer has to treat a character as an “other,” although there may be pieces of the writer in each character. This class will introduce various aspects of character development. Students will use contrasting environments and unfamiliar situations, as well as “other” voices and perspectives to understand the deep desires and fears of their characters. Any of the exercises may develop into a longer, well-developed story for the latter half of the class. Alongside workshopping each participant’s stories, we will read and discuss the work of well-known writers, developing and using our descriptive commentary skills for constructive critique and using the class community to give each participant vital feedback about her work.

CWW Summer 2012 Eco-Living & Writing Retreat at the Château de Sacy

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thumb_sacyThe Cambridge Writers’ Workshop hosted a 10-day Writing and Eco-Living Retreat at Château de Sacy in Picardy, France from August 22-31, 2012. The retreat featured craft of writing seminars, intensive writing sessions, daily workshop classes, three organic meals/day and lodging at the chateau as well as trips to Paris, Versailles, and the French countryside