Acclaimed poet, Alice Oswald, (Memorial and Dart) is hosting a series of residential weekends on creative writing

in the inspiring setting of Sharpham House and its gardens, situated high above the river Dart, near Totnes in South Devon.

Open to anyone interested in developing their writing, from those just starting out, to more experienced writers,

the weekends will be stimulating, immersive and engaging to help create new work in a spirit of exploration and interrogation.

The theme for this series of weekends will be ‘Myth and the Natural World’.

Part of each weekend will be to focus not only on the process of writing, but also on its context. Apart from the house itself,

Sharpham has quarries, courtyards, cellars, arbours, formal gardens and even a volcano. These places will be used as

inspiration to generate or enhance ideas.

The weekends offer an opportunity to experience creative writing as co-enquiry and participants will be encouraged to give

and receive feedback about each others’ work, in a supportive atmosphere.

Alice has had six poetry collections published, including Memorial and Dart, winner of the T S Eliot Prize for Poetry,

and Weeds and Wildflowers, which won the inaugural Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry.

Two specially invited guest writers will also join Alice on these weekends to share their skills and advice.

Peter Oswald, Alice’s husband, is an internationally renowned playwright, poet and performer. He was Writer-in-Residence

at Shakespeare's Globe from 1998 to 2005. His plays in prose and verse have been performed at the Globe, the National

Theatre, in the West End and on Broadway and at venues all over the world.

Jerome Fletcher is Associate Professor of Performance Writing at UC Falmouth and award leader for the MA Performance Writing.

He is the former Director of Writing at Dartington College of Arts. He has published novels, a book of poems, co-written a quartet

of literary concept books and made a series of artist’s books. His work has been translated into ten languages.

Sharpham House is not a hotel but more a special house in a spectacular setting with a relaxed, friendly atmosphere.

The weekends will run:

28th Nov – 1st Dec 2013

10 – 13 April 2014

12 – 15 June 2014

18 – 21 Sept 2014

Each course costs £395.

The courses can be booked online at www.sharphamtrust.org either individually or as a series.