February 14 2024
Dear All,
The date above happens to be the publishing date for my novel “Bone Whispers”, as mentioned in my last newsletter. You can now order it from any good book store, or online – and I’d be grateful if you might think of posting a review online.
Time to celebrate! And it’s Valentine’s Day too…
Meanwhile, Kim Narenkivicius and I continue planning the June writing retreat at Flores Retreat Centre, in Spain. The theme of the retreat will be writing as pilgrimage, tracing the inner and the outer journey, as it takes place on the ‘French way’ part of the pilgrimage route towards Santiago de Compostela. I’ve planned a series of days writing around the spirit of place, the details and atmosphere of place, ourselves in the world (the immediate world around us) and the ways we map experience of place and time.
My own journeys on the Camino – and earlier, in the Atlas mountains of Morocco - have taught me that you don’t know a place really until you walk it – or walk into it. After a few days walking from Astorga in 2010, I began to feel the countryside moving towards me as I moved into it, as if it came forward to hold me. This is something you have to experience, not describe. So for two weeks after the writing retreat, there’s the extra possibility of walking to Santiago de Compostela, for those who choose to do it. Personally, I find writing begins inside my head when I’m either walking or swimming. Movement in space, the body’s effort, the winding road or open sea all play their part. In June, we will visit local churches and petroglyphs to get a feeling for the place, then write, then walk. For people who can’t envisage walking a hundred or more kilometers, there are taxis! Everyone who wants to write something in particular, who wants simply to start writing, or who is an experienced writer already, is welcome. You don’t know what you can do, until you take the first step.
Julia Cameron’s book, “The Artist’s Way” has informed my own life and the almost-yearly classes I’ve led in Key West; some of her themes and ideas, like writing morning pages, will be incorporated. Mainly, I’ve lived and taught from the idea she threw to me in the 1990’s, that process is the point, and if you do something – write, paint, play music – regularly, not only will you improve at it but all sorts of unforeseen options and offers may come your way. My own new process is learning modern dance from an inspired teacher; yes, I could have started that 30 years ago, but the point is, I’ve started it now.
So, I hope to see some of you at the retreat in June! Attached is the website with details and prices.
Affectionately, Ros