Write yourself alive in eco bliss

Would you like to spend time in an eco-village and forest reserve and develop your skill as writer at the same time? Here is your chance to take time out of your busy life and feed your soul: Kuthumba eco village at The Crags, Plettenburg Bay is offering Writing Yourself Alive - A Creative Writing Retreat from 10 to 12 July.

Writing is about a conversation with yourself and with others. An exchange of energies. It is a skill drawn from attention and openness – an organic process rather than a talent.

In this wordshop we explore our innate creativity and imagination and find the words to tell our stories …to make them more alive. We travel in search of our personal myths - the stories that energise our lives. The wordshop also focuses on how to pay attention, be present in your writing and engage the reader as a creative partner. And source your bliss.

Your teacher for the 3 days is former Prof. of English Literature, Dr. Dorian Haarhoff, writer of The Writer’s Voice. The cost of R1290 for 3 days includes lunch and teas.

We are all endowed as story-tellers. There is a mystic in every one of us.

Wild tales of nature with Oom Schalk

On the Saturday evening, 13 July, the Kuthumba visiting storyteller, Dorian Haarhoff, will regale listeners with tales of Oom Schalk Lourens’ antics with leopards, stargazing, peach brandy, love potions and marathons.

Herman Charles Bosman (1905 – 1951) is widely regarded as South Africa’s greatest short-story writer. Through his persona Oom Schalk, storyteller extraordinaire and veld philosopher, Bosman presents a highly entertaining commentary on rural life in the early 20th century. The cost of R85 per person includes soup.

Crafting words in silence

This is followed by a 3-day Crafting Words in Silence retreat from 14 to 16 July at Kuthumba. “This Life so short, this craft so long to learn.” (Chaucer)

This retreat is for those who wish to begin or develop a slice of writing. We listen, observe, attend and allow the text to take us where it wants to go. We get out of the way so we can be spoken and written through. We move between wordshop input and silent writing time. Like the potter, we spin, shape and fire our words, so they can find their simple beauty. One-on-one and group mentoring.

The cost of R1290 for 3 days includes lunch and teas.

For eco accommodation, including breakfast and dinner, or to book for events please contact Ruby Ovenstone at 044 534 8728 or ruby@kuthumba.co.za

For more information on Kuthumba Eco-village and Forest Reserve go to their website.