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Writing & Poetry

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CHOOSE FROM OUR PROGRAMS BELOW

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Seriously Funny: The Magic of Humour in Storytelling

With Janelle Hanchett and Lisa Page Rosenberg

June 11 - 16, 2023
Cortes Island
Let’s explore the transformative power of humour in storytelling. What makes a character funny? What do we mean by “humour = tragedy + time?” How (and why) do we laugh at the human condition in a way that deepens meaning? In every genre, nuanced writing uses humour to create three-dimensional…

Drawing Towards the Earth: Making Journals for Life

With S. Portico Bowman

July 19 - 23, 2023
Cortes Island
Learn how to draw and make art with natural earth elements provided by nature. We will make paper with abaca, bast and stock from the Hollyhock garden. We will cook our own vine charcoal, and take this to the paper, or twigs and tools to the beach for more performative…

Writing to Awaken: Memoir as a Path of Healing

With Mark Matousek

August 11 - 16, 2023
Cortes Island
This transformational five-day program uses personal writing as a path of self-discovery, authenticity, and spiritual growth.

Science and Poetry of the Salish Sea

With Dr. Marjorie Wonham and Melanie Koenderman

August 30 - September 3, 2023
Cortes Island
How do you see the sea? Explore the ecology and poetry of the ocean with a place-based focus on the Salish Sea. Through a unique combination of field observations, marine biology, and poetry, we will examine compelling and timely questions in the relationship between humans and the sea. Each day…

A Secret Garden: Writing Childhood Memories

With Caroline Adderson and Kathy Page

September 17 - 22, 2023
Cortes Island
Book now and get 15% off campus rates! Offer valid until Jun 18, 2023.
“Anybody who has survived childhood has enough information about life to last him the rest of his days.” - Flannery O’Connor No matter who we are, we have this in common: we were all children once. It is during this universal stage of life that we are the most open…

Writing with Ghosts: The Power of Haunted Writing

With Hiromi Goto and Kyo Maclear

October 1 - 6, 2023
Cortes Island
Book now and get 15% off campus rates! Offer valid until Jul 2, 2023.
“It seems that the essential impulse in working at all is to rehaunt your own house, or to allow what haunts you to have a voice, to chart what is deeply private and etched on the soul, and find form and structure for it.” —Colm Toibin What haunts you? What…