Writing and Cooking in Provence 2007
La Roque Alric Workshops & Retreat
June 1 - 7 (Workshop)
June 1 - 16 (Retreat)
The hillside hamlet of La Roque Alric provides an ideal setting for our week-long writers’ workshops in the South of France. This year, the focus is on poetry, memoirs and fiction. St. John’s poet laureate Agnes Walsh and Montreal novelist/journalist Tess Fragoulis will each lead a small group through the basics of their craft. Acting as editors and mentors, the workshop leaders offer each writer close personal attention. This is a result-oriented program tailored to the specific needs of each participants.
You don’t need to be a published writer to qualify. Just send a sample of your work or an outline of your project. Your days will be spent writing, meeting with your editor, joining in group discussions. Evenings are a convivial time - great meals, outstanding wines, time for walks in the hills and relaxation. You’ll hear about the history and folklore of a 300-year-old Provencal village from people who live there year-round, and have time to explore the environs at your leisure.
NEW: This year, we’re adding two cuisine options. Join chef Judy Harrison for a trip to a local market, followed by a cooking class where you’ll learn how to prepare traditional Provencal dishes (tapenade, anchoide, savoury tart, Provencal tomatoes/tian, dessert), and dine on the results of your effort. Writers will enjoy the healthful benefits of a Mediterranean life-style, great wines and good food prepared by experienced cooks. (You’re welcome to participate in meal preparation throughout the week.) We’re also offering seminar on Great Writing About Food featuring works by Patricia Wells, M.K. Fisher and others. Read the writing, eat the food!
Limited to a small number of participants, the La Roque Alric writing experience is designed to be creative, nurturing, restorative. This year’s workshops will build on past success to provide an inspiring working holiday for the literary and health-minded traveler. La Roque Alric is the place to begin or advance a project you’ve been meaning to tackle but never quite found time. Work is central. Our aim is to move your talent and literary ambitions a few steps closer to your goal.
The workshop package includes a room with a desk in one of several great heritage homes in La Roque Alric, transportation to and from Avignon (45 km), all meals and wine. A working holiday you’ll savour for years! Don’t delay as space is limited to a dozen participants. Non-writing partners may be included at an additional cost.
If you just need a quiet place to write and want to enjoy the Provencal atmosphere, consider the writers’ retreat option. A room with a view, three meals with wine, transportation from Avignon to La Roque Alric and return. The retreat is intended for writers who want to work independently in a convivial atmosphere. Join us for a few days or the entire fortnight. You’ll eat with workshop writers and may partake of the cuisine options. A low-key, communal atmosphere, ideal for serious writers.
Private editorial consultation is available from workshop director Marianne Ackerman, a journalist, playwright and novelist.