Reflections On Skiathos
Writing Workshop 05

  WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS SPEAK:

".....dionysos sits laughing on top of the clocktower his hands haul the bells of the hours that haunt me

with oleander beside me and thanatos before me a surge beneath me and a belief in hunger and hope......"

from PASSIO by Geraldine Green
(go to http://www.insomniacathon.org/rrIZGG01.html to read entire poem)

"I think you would be hard pushed to find a more suitable and beautiful setting for providing inspiration and relaxation than Skiathos. Cool, clear sea, interesting town with the usual tourist areas, but also plenty of quieter, more authentic back streets and taveras. Skiathos has everything you could want for an enjoyable and productive working holiday"
- Linda Graham, UK

"The Skiathos Writing Workshop was one of the richest experiences of my life.....writing poetry in an open-air cafe, overlooking the Aegean Sea.....swimming off the rocky shore on bouyant water, lieing in the sun on hot stones, dining with mad poets into the night.......wandering up colorful, ancient, narrow streets........and following bouzouki music where Greek patrons sing along, and invite you to join them over retsina, bread and mezzadakia......"
- Jean Lehrman, NY

I attended the Greece writing retreat to learn to be more abstract in my writing. What I came away with was so much more! George Wallace's methods are simplistic yet profound. I came to the program with "writer's block" and left with many ideas and many more ways to express them. Skiathos island is simply breathtaking, and sharing the experience of the island with the wonderful poets in attendance made for a truly memorable experience

— Rhonda M. Ward--Poet--Mystic, Ct

SKIATHOS by Jean Lehrman

I do not want to fly a cow over the moon
I do not need to be rain, falling
it’s not like i want to be a bee
making flowers from honey
or lightning
or the high clock tower bell
peeling out
over skiathos
from the church
on the highest
hill to look out over the Aegean
for a hundred years

i only want to sit
under this fig tree
or on that roof
looking out over the sea
for a little while

i only want
to put those two men
with their big, greek
boatmen’s arms
their sea-tanned work-toned arms
in my bed for
one
night