THE CLIMATE OF THE POEM: A RESIDENTIAL POETRY WRITING COURSE WITH SEAN O’BRIEN IN SOUTHERN FRANCE

One week residential course at Château Ventenac, Southern France: Sunday 29 March to Saturday 4 April 2009

The surroundings are beautiful. The terrace of the Chateau looks out over vineyards and waterways to the Pyrenees. It’s a short drive to sandy beaches on the Mediterranean coast. The weather is warm and sunny, without the intense heat of mid-summer. Mediterranean cuisine is served with as much of the fine local wine as you care to drink. All this and the personal attention of master poet and tutor, Sean O’Brien, can be yours for a whole week in September.

The course is aimed at gaining greater understanding and control of the needs and nature of the poems you're writing - lyric, dramatic, elegiac, comic, long, short et cetera. What does a poem need to sustain its particular life, and how can this be provided? The course requirements are curiosity, imagination and a liking for discussion.

Cost: £575 all inclusive for the week in shared room (excluding flights); £80 supplement for single room; budget airlines fly into nearby Carcassonne, Beziers and Perpignan

There’s a maximum of 12 places.

Sean O’Brien is a multiple award-winning poet and a very experienced writing tutor. He is also a critic, playwright, broadcaster, anthologist and editor. He grew up in Hull and now lives in Newcastle upon Tyne, where he is Professor of Creative Writing at Newcastle University. He has also acted as a mentor for individual poets outside the university and is particularly adept at helping poets to prepare a first collection for publication. He has taught on many courses for the Arvon Foundation and the London-based Poetry School, and has tutored abroad in a number of countries including Denmark, Japan and Mauritius.

A note from Sean O’Brien:

‘In this course we'll take a fresh look at the poems we write, putting aside habit and expectation in order to extend the possibilities of our work. Workshops, readings, discussion and personal tuition will all form part of the experience. Members of the course should bring poems, enthusiasm and an open mind.’

For more information email: info@chateauventenac.com

To book telephone 07773 206344 or visit the website