Anam Cara: Day 4 - What 's Going On Here Anyway

The view outside my window

So what does a six day course in ekphrastic poetry consist of anyway? Well, today was our field trip to Castletownbere to visit two art galleries --- the Sarah Walker Art Gallery and the Mill Cove Gallery. We picked art work that was puzzling --- tried to let the image choose us. It was fun to be with such a willing group --- everyone writing intently on the assignments that I gave. This is a dream group of poets.

Yesterday the focus was on collaboration and we examined different ways poets and prose writers go about their collaboration. Writers Diane Aprile, Anne McDuffie, and Geraldine Mills  were kind enough to fill out a questionnaire I created (desperate that I needed some help leading a session with which I had limited experience) and share the wisdom they'd gleaned from some very different projects. By the end of the session we all had written action plans with some very exciting and realistic projects. 

The only problem is that I seem to be pulling much of the classes together the night before I teach. I came here with a general plan for the week and the first few days well delineated. For the next two days it will be a bit more free style. The important thing is that we've really become a group with a lot of good feeling and a wild amount of laughter.

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