Monday 22nd February - Friday 26th March 2010
with Paul Matthews

Five weeks of creative writing and speaking, activity and adventure, designed for writers, poets, teachers, and all seekers of creative renewal.

‘In the Beginning was the Word’, says an earlier wisdom, but so often we spend that sacred power on empty trinkets. Imagine, though, how rich our communities and relationships could be, how creative our classrooms and places of work, if we truly stood in our words and lived them.

Through collaborative and individual exercises in Creative Writing and Speaking (both playful and profound), word craft and self transformation will go hand in hand as we rub shoulders with Adam in the magic of naming, and explore truth, beauty and goodness in the language that arises between us. What is a word worth? – the attention, surely, that we invest in it, and in each other, every moment.

Accompanying adventures and activities include: singing, rhythmic movement, colour work, mythology, listening exercises, nature observation and cultural trips. Tutorials and group sharing give added support. Beginners and non-native speakers welcome, though a good working level of English is important. A mornings-only programme is negotiable for local people.

Paul Matthews, poet and teacher, lives in Forest Row. In the course of his work he has developed specific exercises that are gathered in his book, Sing Me the Creation (Hawthorn Press), an invaluable sourcebook for teachers and writers. His teaching of movement is uniquely woven into his work of enlivening language. He has travelled extensively, teaching, and speaking his poetry. A collection of his poems is The Ground that Love Seeks (Five Seasons Press). A more recent book, Words in Place (Hawthorn Press) opens our senses to the language of nature.

Contributing teachers include: Lindsay Dearlove, Naamah Pinkerfield, Margli Mattthews, Glenys Waters, as well as guest speakers – John Meeks and Betty Staley.

Who is the Course For?

• Writers who wish to enliven their language skills and creativity, and to receive support and encouragement in a group setting.
• Teachers at whatever level, and those who care for children.
• Workers in the social field seeking a creative medium.
• Therapists who recognize the healing potential of the spoken and the written word.
• All those who seek renewal and meaning in their lives through a focused creative work.
  

There is an urgent need for people who can bring living language into classroom, community and human relationships. Emerson College with its international character and rich cultural and social life provides an ideal setting for training such qualities.

The Shape of the Day: (provisional)

8.30 Singing
9.00 Speech Work: accompanying the weekly themes through poetry and the speech exercises devised by Rudolf Steiner, helping us to stand confidently in our words. Fridays: a study of the mythology and evolution of language; Eurythmy.
10.00 Coffee Break.
10.30 Creative Writing. Guided tasks in both individual and collaborative writing, bringing language to life out of our deep attention to each other and to the world. Some rhythmic movement / games.
12.45 Lunch
2.00 Sharing and crafting. Speaking and listening in the archetypal modes of the seven planets (includes mask work). Some work with colour and clay.
4.0 Individual writing/tutorials, and group critique.

Much will depend upon your own initiative in the writing and presentation work. The insights of Rudolf Steiner and others into the path of Imagination, Inspiration and Intuition will form the background to our work together.

Whose word could be truthful enough
for the Stone to accept it?

Who could have beauty enough to speak
for the Rose?

Who could be innocent enough to utter
what’s at the heart of a Wolf or a Goldfish?

Whose word could be grounded in love enough
to sound what is most deeply Human?

PM