GREECE!

	*the creative proce*ss...

Greece Writing Retreats 2007

Treat yourself to an exotic and magical writing retreat on the island of Skiathos.

The island of Skiathos is the most gorgeous and artistic of the Sporades islands to the north of Greece. An island of lush forests and over 60 beaches, Skiathos beaches have been rated the 7th best, not only in Greece, but in the entire world! Golden sandy beaches, international restaurants, hip cafes and Greek hospitality inspire many European artists and writers to live here all year round.

We will be staying in a comfortable hotel in Skiathos town surrounded by shops, book stores, cobblestone streets, internet cafes, tavernas, interesting people and views of the sea. All this and more offer the ultimate inspiration for seasoned and aspiring writers. We will meet as a group, for daily meals, at lively outdoor tavernas to ensure that you will fit in and feel at home very quickly. Courses will be held daily from 9am-noon, with some evening sessions as well. We then head to the beach for lunch and a swim, followed by a siesta, dinner, nitelife and shopping!

July 6-July 13, 2007
Poetry Course Led By Poet Laureate
George Wallace Of New York

IMAGINATION BASED POETRY:
Discovering 'deep self' through the Inventive Process: Workshop members will 'stretch their imaginations' and focus on how word-play and inventive writing helps them to find their 'deeper self'. Participants are guided through a course that offers rigorous intellectual challenge and a keen sense of play. Instead of the traditional confessionalist approach of self-confrontation or deep imaging, the inventive approach leads writers to discover meaning and art by cultivation of the imagination. 'Imagination Based Poetry whether it is magical realism, surrealism, dada or fictive writing, permits the writer to escape ego-based writing and reach to deeper truths about our nature and our experience', says Wallace. 'This manner of writing provides enormous stimulation and enjoyment, and yields remarkably fruitful results.

Poet Laureate George Wallace

Poet Laureate George Wallace taught the 2005 Skiathos writing workshop which was a smash hit! An award winning poet, journalist and publisher of Poetrybay Magazine, Wallace has had several poetry books published and translated into French, Spanish, Korean, Bengali and Macedonian. 'Burn My Heart in Wet Sand', Troubador, UK, Sept 04, (voted best poetry book of the year by Poetrykit), 50 Poesia d'Amore, IT, Aug 04 (tr. Flaminio di Biaggi). George's "After The Fall", Butcher Shop, NYC 05, reaffirmed his place an an international force in poetry. His latest, "When I Was Dead", Flarestack, UK, scheduled for publication Spring 06. Wallace organized the hugely sucessful four-city "Big Sur" Marathon in 2001, honoring Jack Kerouac.Go to http://www.poetrybay.com/ for more info about Wallace, additionally http://www.poetz.com/ and poetswearprada.home.att.net/GeorgeWallace.html. They offer a number of his poems.

GETTING TO SKIATHOS:

For UK travellers please contact Lizzie at 0800 091-0419 where you can book flights from various UK airports directly to Skiathos. Flights leave the UK for Skiathos on Fridays and return from Skiathos to the UK the following Friday.

For U.S. travellers contact David at info@GlobeMerchant.com He can also book your 30 minute flight from Athens to Skiathos, or call 1 888-585-2727 for fares from USA to Athens and book your own flight to Skiathos/Athens with Olympic Airlines, 1-800 223-1226.   Or you can fly directly to the UK and take a flight from the UK to Skiathos---in that case go to http://www.1st-4travel.com/flights.aspx

Cost of Writing Workshop: 800 Euros or 545 British Pounds or $l,050. U.S. Dollars, and includes:

. 20 Course hours

. Single ‘Greek Style Room’ hotel accommodations w/AC

. Transportation to/from Skiathos airport to hotel

. Two hour walking tour of ‘old village’ with Vassili

. Rooftop Garden reading/dinner party

. 3 early morning Yoga classes.

Please make arrangements to arrive sometime on Friday.   Course begins Saturday morning, July 7 and ends at noon, on Friday, July l3.

Deposit of 300 Euros or 200 British Pounds is due by April l. If you cancel by May 25^th you will be refunded 250 Euros or l50 BP of your deposit.   Remainder of balance is due by May 25th and no refunds will be issued afterwards.

UK residents can register and make payment with Geraldine Green…..please e-mail her at geradinegreen1@aol.com

US and European residents can register with Zoe Artemis. E-mail zoeartemis@aol.com for registration info.

To view a map of Skiathos: http://skiathosinfo.com/tour/travel.htm

If you plan on staying overnite in Athens I recommend Phidias Hotel, located in the artsy neighborhood of Thission, near the Acropolis, for around 50 Euros a nite, cheaper if you double up. Their E-mail is phidiasa@otenet.gr You can easily get to the hotel from the Athens airport via a bus or their 'state of the art' metro system for under $5.00, or a taxi ride for about $30.00. Everyone speaks English in Athens!

If you plan on visiting Greece for two weeks, I suggest you spend a couple of nites in Athens; and then directlly from Skiathos, after the writing workshop, take a one hour hydrofoil to the mystical-magical island of Alonissos where you can spend several days. You can book all of this at any travel agency while you're on Skiathos.

For Detailed Information and cost for Skiathos Writing Workshop, please email Zoeartemis@aol.com


	'In every Greek landscape..the light is the protagonist-hero. The mountains, the valley and the sea form the arena in which he struggles, or the couch on which he reposes. The light is the resplendent Sober Dionysos who is dismembered and suffers, then rejoins his parts and triumphs. The entire scene of Greece seems to have come to be just so that he might perform.' Nikos Kazantzakis The Light of Greece is so startling that Henry Miller was moved to write: 'The Collosus of Maroussi-a Celebration of the Uninhibited Pagan Spirit. ... In the dazzling sunlight a detail...stands out with hair-raising exactitude such as one sees only in the paintings of the very great or the insane. Everything is delineated, sculptured, etched...You see everything in its uniqueness--a man sitting on a road under a tree...Whatever you look at you see as if for the first time...' Henry Miller 'The curiosity of the Greek, his enthusiasm for new experiences, his tendency to dramatize the smallest incident into high tragedy or comedy--all these are related to his sense of the god behind the man, the eternal truth behind the most humble object. Those who have come to know Greece will often remark that every Greek is a philosopher.' Nicholas Gage 'The walk of the first pedestrian, the lively shout of the first vendor, the opening of the first windows, of the first door--is the ode the roads have in the morning. The footsteps of the last pedestrian, the shout of the last vendor, the shutting of the doors and the windows-- is the voice of the elegy the roads have in the evening.' Cavafy