The Art of Reflection: 14-Day Summer Creative Writing Intensive
July 12-26, 2024
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis
All applications received by 11:59pm on Nov 30 will waive the $95 application fee.
PROGRAM Overview
Deepen your written craft through intentional observation and reflection. Learn to see beneath the surface and ask the harder questions, honing your unique voice. Read a diverse sample of short works to guide and inspire your personal introspection, and learn to better translate your thoughts and feelings to the page. Imitation is part of the practice of the writing process, and among the works you read will be those by several writers with connections to Spoleto’s International Festival (Festival dei Due Mondi): Ezra Pound, Allen Ginsberg, Charles Olson, John Wieners, Barbara Guest, Pablo Neruda, and others. With historic surroundings as your inspiration, venture out into the narrow, medieval streets of Spoleto with eyes sharp and journals ready. You will be encouraged to write about your own experiences, background, and memories, and share works-in-progress regularly with the rest of the students and faculty.
Curriculum:
Short fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry discussion from published writers
Nature writing
Peer-to-peer workshops
Observational and introspective writing
Personal statement
Sensory writing
The art of revision
Literary trends and devices
Faculty
Jay bonner
J. W. Bonner writes regularly for ARGO, a Hellenic Studies journal published out of London, and for Asheville Poetry Review, for which he serves on the Editorial Board. His fiction has appeared in Greensboro Review, Tyuonyi, and The Quarterly. He has written for other publications, including Kirkus Reviews, Artforum, Art Papers, and North Carolina Literary Review. His essays on Allan Gurganus and Ann Patchett appeared in the Dictionary of Literary Biography. A number of music essays may be found online at March Xness. His essay on Black Mountain College photography, titled “Eyes in All Heads,” appeared in the recent Asheville Art Museum introduction to the permanent collection catalogue. A graduate of Duke (where he studied with Allan Gurganus and Reynolds Price) and of Brown (where he studied with John Hawkes, Robert Coover, Meredith Steinbach, and Susan Sontag), he has taught writing at Brown, University of North Carolina Asheville, and, most recently, Asheville School, a coed secondary boarding school in the mountains of western North Carolina. He also has served as a Rhode Island Writer in Residence at Davisville Middle School. For a number of years in the 1980s and 90s, he and his wife ran French Broad Press, an independent small press publishing venture.
SAMPLE DAILY SCHEDULE
Our class schedule follows a typical Italian pace of life. There may also be variation to accommodate the interests of the group and the work each student would like to do in Spoleto.
8:00am - Breakfast at the Convent
9:00am - 12:00pm - Classroom Work
12:00pm - 1:00pm - Peer-to-Peer Workshops
1:15pm - 2:30pm - Independent lunch in Spoleto
2:30pm - 4:00pm - Free Time
4:00pm - 8:00pm - Exploration and spontaneous writing throughout Spoleto
8:00pm - Family-Style Dinner
AcCOMMODATIONS
All students live together in European collegial style at the Residence di SantíAngelo, a gorgeous 15th century convent in the medieval section of Spoleto. The convent has been beautifully renovated with modern conveniences and has spacious courtyards and colorful gardens. It is only a short walk from the residence to classes, the main piazzas of town, and the restaurants where meals are served.
Students are supervised by faculty, staff, and resident advisors who live at the convent with the students. Classes take place in beautiful buildings throughout the historic medieval section of town with abundant, luminous spaces for photographic exploration.
TUITION
Program Dates: July 12-26, 2024
Total Cost: $4975
What’s Included
Tuition for courses
Two meals per day
Lodging in a gorgeous 15th-century convent
Course materials
Entrance fees for group activities
Fieldtrip-related transportation within Italy
What’s Not Included
Airfare
Passport fees
Travel or Medical Insurance
Personal expenses
A $95 non-refundable fee is due upon application. Applications received by 11:59 pm (EST) on November 30 will waive the application fee. Within 2 weeks of your acceptance into the program a non-refundable 50% deposit is due. The remaining 50% balance is by May 1, 2024.
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis
All applications received by 11:59pm on Nov 30 will waive the $95 application fee.