THE WAY OF THE ARTISTS
WRITE IN THE SOUTH OF FRANCE
September 7-14 and 21-28, 2019
Live like a French person! For seven nights, six full days, in the charming Catalonian town of Céret. It’s nestled in the foothills of the Pyrenees and the sparkling Mer Mediterranée is a mere 34 kilometers away. We love this town with its medieval walls and giant plane trees, its modern art museum and bustling Saturday market, its bakeries and bistros. We also love the region, famous for wine, seafood, ruined castles and artists of the early 20th century.
Our theme this year is The Way of the Artists – Inspired by Art. We are inspired by art each time we return to the Pyrénées Orientales, and we want to inspire you too. But you don’t have to be an art expert – just come with a mind open to the delights of the visual and how it can influence your writing. Each class day we’ll draw on the work on one artist (most associated with the area) for inspiration.
Every morning we’ll meet from 9:30 to 12:30 for the “class” portion of the experience – a basic workshop format of mini-lectures from Debbie and Charlotte, in-class writing exercises, and discussion of the pieces each of you will submit. (Yes, we will give you writing assignments at the end of class each day. Even in paradise, there is work to be done.) We’ll also assign a book or two for you to read ahead of time. In class we’ll discuss how the assigned books relate to our chosen artists.
We’ll have a group cocktail hour (with optional writerly talk) each day at around 6:00, so from 12:30 till then you can eat, write and explore as you wish. We plan to organize an optional side trip or two to nearby points of interest. The region is rich with Romanesque and Gothic cathedrals, magnificent mountains, beaches, vineyards, and vistas painted by Matisse or Dérain or Soutine.
Day One Saturday September 7 or 21: Arrive in Céret and settle in. The train from either Paris or Barcelona stops in nearby Perpignan; we’ll assemble there and drive down to Céret together. We’ll spend Saturday getting acclimated and getting to know each other, with a festive dinner at home or at a restaurant, depending on the group’s choice.
Day Two Sunday, September 8 or 22: Go wide. In 2018, the Musée d’Art Moderne in Céret showed 50 some works by French-Moroccan artist Najia Mehadji, who finds inspiration everywhere. Dance, music, geometry, architecture, flowers and waves, for example, in pieces that are evocative rather than representative. She inspires us to do the same: take inspiration from the visual arts and use it in our writing.
Day Three Monday, September 9 or 23: Go wild. Henri Matisse spent the summer of 1905 in nearby Collioure inventing Fauvism (fauve = wild beast) with bold unrealistic use of color and simplified forms. Time to add something wild to your work? To try being bold and simple and unrealistic? We’ll play with these possibilities.
Day Four Tuesday, September 10 or 24: Look around. Chaim Soutine and Pinchus Krémègne were emigrés to Paris from what is now Belarus. Both spent time in Céret painting the town and its surroundings. Their trees and houses are not your trees and houses. Study their trees and houses, then take your own vision of the world around you and put it on the page.
Day Five Wednesday, September 11 or 25: Try something completely different. In his old age, when illness made painting too physically challenging for him, Henri Matisse tried something completely different: he made arrangements of paper cutouts that today are among his most reproduced works. Let’s be like Matisse – try something new, arrange and rearrange.
Day Six Thursday, September 12 or 26: Drunk on color. This is the way one writer described the work of Raoul Dufy, who lived and painted in Perpignan for many years. Soak up some Dufy, let it go to your head, then make your work intoxicating.
Day Seven Friday, September 13 or 27: Put it all together. What did you learn about your writing this week? How will you apply your new insights and ideas to your work when you return home? We’ll help you set goals to incorporate what you’ve learned and continue the momentum you gained this week.
Day Eight Saturday, September 14 or 28: Time to leave. Unless you’d rather stay! In past years, several students have opted to spend another (non-workshop) week in whatever little piece of paradise we’ve chosen. If you’d like to stay the week of September 14 to 21 in Céret in 2019, please let us know immediately so we can discuss housing.
YOUR LEADERS:
Debbie Guyol (dguyol@aol.com) teaches creative writing in the Mature Learning Program at Clark College, where she has inspired scores of students since 2002 and edited an anthology of student writing called Elderberry Wine Vintage 2010. Debbie is also a lawyer who has practiced in New York City and Portland. She is the co-author of The Complete Guide to Contract Lawyering, as well as articles for legal publications. Her co-authored book Pride and Prejudice and Kitties was published by Skyhorse Publishing in April 2013.
Charlotte Rains Dixon (chardixon@comcast.net), a writer and writing coach, teaches at the Writer’s Loft in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and Room to Write at the Scarritt Bennett center in Nashville. Charlotte has also ghostwritten over a dozen books on diverse topics. Among her work-for-hire projects are The Complete Guide to Writing Successful Fundraising Letters, Beautiful America’s Oregon, and Beautiful America’s Wyoming. Her long list of magazine credits includes pieces for Vogue Knitting, The Oregonian and Stepping Out Magazine. Her MFA in Creative Writing is from Spalding University. Charlotte’s novel, Emma Jean’s Bad Behavior, was published by Vagabondage Press in February 2013. http://www.wordstrumpet.com/
TESTIMONIALS – 2019 will be our seventh year presenting workshops in France. Our students have loved our sojourns – Céret in 2013, Pézenas in 2014, Collioure in 2015, back to C̀éret in 2016, Collioure again in 2017 and 2018. The writing has been good too!
Renee Soasey says: “Debbie and Charlotte have a way of nudging and nurturing writers to new horizons, and they create an atmosphere of camaraderie into the bargain. I felt each of us at the workshop in Céret made real progress in our writing goals – and we had so much fun doing it! The town of Céret and our wonderful accommodations made a charming backdrop to indulge in not only writing, but fabulous wine and food topped off with laughter and friendly conversation. I can’t wait to do it again!”
Jenni Gainsborough says: “Céret was the perfect place for a writing retreat – so different from home, fascinating in its culture and history, it sparked creativity. Yet the beauty of its setting and its tranquil pace of life made it easy to focus on writing. And when I needed a break there was so much to see and enjoy and be reinspired by. The camaraderie of the group added so much – listening to other people’s work was inspiring and their interest in and insightful comments about my writing were so helpful and encouraging. And we had fun! Leisurely dinners with wine and conversation flowing freely were our reward for days of hard work.”
Albert Bouffard has joined us in five previous years: “The Let’s Go Write experience in France, with its collegial and congenial spirit, enriched me, and I have no doubt, all the participants. The writing almost palpably improved; acquaintances became friends; and entrenched habits broke open, as we bumped up against another cultural and linguistic tradition. Not a bad thing for writers. And I can’t forget the good food, excellent cooks and the waiters and waitresses who so often entertained us with un sens de l’humour. As my young grand daughter would say: ‘How cool is that, Papa!’”
“Charlotte is warm, personable, and real. Her ideas work.” Zan Marie Steadham
“Debbie’s classes are inspirational, educational and a lot of fun.” Helen Cartales
“I attend every workshop Charlotte and Debbie offer, as my schedule allows. I come away from each of these workshops feeling inspired, energized, smarter, and highly motivated.” Dawn Montgomery
THE DETAILS:
Cost: The price is $2100 if you register by December 31, 2018; after that it goes up to $2200. We require a $400 deposit on registration and complete payment by May 31, 2019. If your spouse or partner wants to come along, there will be an additional charge. The price for a couple who will share a room and both take the workshop is $3100, or $3000 before December 31, 2018.
We offer repeat students a discount – $2000 if you register by December 31; $2100 if you register thereafter.
The price of the program covers lodging, tuition, breakfast and four dinners. Lunch and other dinners are flexible – a mix of meals at home and in restaurants– with the cost shared among participants.
The housing cost for the middle week (September 14-21) is shared equally among everyone who stays for that week, and will be determined once we’ve made our final housing payments. In past years it has hovered between $500 and $600 per bedroom.
How to apply: Send us a short statement (250 words or fewer) about where you are in your writing now and why you would like to join the workshop and what you hope to get out of it. Please also tell us whether you prefer the week of September 7-14 or 21-28. The program is limited to eight participants. Once either week is full, only the other week will be available.
What to expect: Please bring a computer with word processing capability. The houses where we stay have internet access; you will be expected to send your writing to other class members each day via email. We will discuss student writing as a group, focusing on each day’s subject matter. We encourage constructive discussion of how to improve the writing.
Physical fitness: Okay, we won’t make you do pushups or run a marathon, but you should be aware that there will be stairs, there will be hills and there will be walking. It’s not terribly strenuous, but be advised.
Transportation: We will rent cars to use as needed for grocery shopping and short excursions.
Cancellation policy: The $400 deposit is not refundable. Once you have paid the balance of the cost, we will provide a full refund (less deposit) if you cancel before June 30. If you cancel thereafter there is no refund unless you find a replacement student for us.
Travel insurance: It’s relatively inexpensive; we strongly recommend you purchase it. Allianz is one company we’ve used; MH Ross Advantage plan is recommended by our travel agent friend.
Contact us: chardixon@comcast.net or dguyol@aol.com
