My friend Lisa Couturier will be part of this great-sounding writing retreat in Maryland, not too far from DC. She’s super-smart and super-generous…a wonderful teacher! And, yes, a writer to be reckoned with, since her workshop is titled “Writing as Predator”! This event is open to writers at all levels.
Fox Haven Writers Retreat
April 19-21, 2013
Escape for a weekend writing retreat in the Maryland foothills that cradle the serene and beautiful Fox Haven Farm in Jefferson. Join faculty Susan Cohen and Lisa Couturier, professional writers and editors distinguished in their fields, noted for their teaching abilities, and dedicated to helping participants improve their skills.
Fox Haven Faculty
-----Lisa Couturier is the winner of a 2012 Pushcart Prize for “Dark Horse,” an essay of immersion-journalism about the treatment of horses in America. Couturier’s collection of literary essays, The Hopes of Snakes & Other Tales from the Urban Landscape (Beacon Press, 2006) was described by USA Today as a “lyrical” weaving of “nature writing, philosophy, theology and feminism,” while Publisher’s Weekly noted: “these moving essays [do] not so much domesticate the wilderness as reveal the wildness within the domestic.” Widely published, Couturier is listed as a notable essayist in Best American Essays, 2006 and 2011. Featured in The Washington Post, USA Today, and People, she lives with her family and six horses on an agricultural reserve in Maryland.
-----Susan Cohen is a Professor of English and Coordinator of the Creative Writing Program at Anne Arundel Community College in Arnold, Maryland. She is the editor ofShorewords: A Collection of Women’s Coastal Writings, co-editor of Wildbranch: An Anthology of Nature, Environmental and Place-based Writing and author of numerous essays and poems about place, environment and American literature. Her most recent essay is included in Companions in Wonder: Children and Adults Exploring Nature Together ed. Julie Dunlap and Steve Kellert, for which she is the recipient of a 2012 Dan’s Papers Literary Nonfiction Award for her essay “Littoral Drifter” about her experiences living on the beach as a runaway teenager. Susan is migratory, spending her school year living in Anne Arundel County, Maryland and her summers in Montauk Point, New York.
SCHEDULE FOR WEEKEND
Friday, April 19, 7:00-9:00 p.m.:
Authors Reading, Interactive writing activity, Q & A with authors
Workshops: Saturday, April 20, 1:00-4:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 20, 7:00-9:00 p.m. Dinner with Authors
Sunday, April 21, 10:00-2:00 p.m.
*Final hour is dedicated to student readings in combined group
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Lisa Couturier’s Saturday writing workshop, “Writing as Predator,” asks participants to “hunt” in the wilderness of their souls, since it is there that our most hopeful and fulfilling writing is born and thrives. Personal essays and immersion-journalism arise out of deeply held perspectives and experiences; and we will discuss how these genres’ elements (storytelling, question/conflict, figurative language, etc.) help us track our narratives. We will use writing prompts, reflection, and time spent outdoors at Fox Haven to create vignettes that later could turn into essays. Most of all, we will stalk honesty and the things that have meaning in our lives. All levels welcome. Limit 20 participants. No experience necessary!
Couturier’s Sunday workshop, “Writing as Predator, II,” is a manuscript review for those who have a personal essay / nature essay / or journalistic narrative underway. Manuscripts must be typed and double-spaced. Please submit no more than the first ten pages (or fewer) via email by March 29th to the instructor. Manuscripts will be shared via email with other participants prior to the class. Workshop guidelines to help students provide feedback to each other will also be sent to all participants. To maximize the benefit of a group workshop, all members will need to have read all manuscripts before April 21st. Limit 8 -10 participants.
Susan Cohen’s Saturday memoir writing workshop, “The Geography of Childhood,”asks participants to explore their connections to places from their childhood that impacted their lives. Essays of place incorporate strong sensory detail, a storyline, factual information and the writer’s point of view to ultimately make readers feel the writer’s experience. We will use writing prompts, reflection, and time spent outdoors at Fox Haven Farm to create vignettes that later could turn into essays or short stories. All levels welcome. Limit 20 participants. No experience necessary!
Cohen’s Sunday workshop, “Writing about Place,” is a group workshop manuscript review for those who have a personal essay / a nature essay / or place-based fiction underway. Manuscripts must be typed and double-spaced. Please submit no more than the first ten pages (or fewer) by March 29th to the instructor. Manuscripts will be shared via email with other participants prior to the class. Workshop guidelines to help students provide feedback to each other will also be sent to all participants. To maximize the benefit of a group workshop, all members will need to have read all manuscripts before April 21st. Limit 8 – 10 participants.
Portion of Proceeds go to: Second Chance for Wildlife, in Gaithersburg, MD; Watershed Stewards Academy