Join Pam Houston as she returns to Atelier Clos Mirabel for a manuscript based prose workshop in the foothills of the Pyrénées mountains. The focus of this workshop will be all about reviewing each other’s work in a collective and caring environment.
About this course:
I am so excited to announce my first manuscript-based prose workshop at Clos Mirabel. After two years of holding generative workshops in this beautiful environment, we now have the opportunity to gather in a smaller group (maximum 7-8) to make a greater commitment to each others’ work, and in doing so take that work to the next level.
Three weeks before the course begins, all registered students will be asked to turn in up to 5000 words of prose (personal essay/short story/novel or memoir chapter/micro memoir, etc) for distribution to us all. We will read each others work prior to being in France, so we arrive ready to discuss what is working in those pieces and what could work even better. In each class session we will review one person’s work, and I will use each story to talk about and demystify specific elements of craft: dialogue, structure, metaphor, beginnings and ending, etc.
My job as a workshop leader is to make and hold a safe space where we can bring our considered, compassionate and critical eye to each writer’s work and discuss how to make each manuscript even stronger. We will be aiming for sentences in which the language is always working in at least two ways at once, where metaphors dance between meanings like beads of water on a too-hot grill.
We will focus, throughout the week, on what I believe to be the real artistry of prose writing: the translation of the emotional stakes of the story onto its physical landscape; the way we dip our ladles into the bottomless pot of metaphor soup of our lived and witnessed experience and pull out what we need; the way we pick up hunks of the physical world and bring it back to the page, translated into language.
Once the class list is set I will send a few short readings available on the internet so we will have a small body of published work in common in addition to the work you turn in. All the while we will be cared for and fed the most (healthy delicious food I have ever tasted) by Clos Mirabel’s amazing team!
Programme Outline – with Pam Houston
Saturday
4.00 – Check-in time from 4pm onwards
Guests arrive, settle in and explore Atelier Clos Mirabel.
6.00 – Welcome drinks and dinner
Sunday
8.30 – 9.30 Buffet breakfast of local and regional produce
10.00 – 1.00 Morning session
1.00 – 2.30 Lunch at Atelier Clos Mirabel
2.30 – 4.30 Afternoon session
6.00 – Aperitifs before 4 course dinner in the Manor House
Monday
8.30 – 9.30 Buffet breakfast of local and regional produce
10.00 – 1.00 Morning session
1.00 – 2.30 Lunch at Atelier Clos Mirabel
2.30 – 4.30 Afternoon session
6.00 – Aperitifs before 4 course dinner in the Manor House
Tuesday
No workshop today. We will be doing some writing exercises in the classroom, then we will go to a village for lunch and on a walk in the mountains, and do a place based writing exercise (plein air) in the afternoon.
8.30 – 9.30 Buffet breakfast of local and regional produce
9.30 – 11.30 Writing exercises in the classroom,
1.00 – 2.00 Lunch at local Auberge followed by an afternoon excursion.Transport provided.
2.30 – 5.00 Walk in the mountains & writing exercises en plein air.
6.00 – Aperitifs before 4 course dinner in the Manor House or on the terrace
Please note this programme may be subject to change depending on the weather. Please ensure you bring sensible walking shoes, layers, waterproof jacket, water bottle, sunscreen and a hat.
Wednesday – Free day (Lunch is not included)
8.30 – 9.30 Buffet breakfast of local and regional produce
Free time to explore Pau or beyond. The Clos Mirabel team is available to provide suggestions and organize transport.
6.00 – Aperitifs before 4 course dinner in the Manor House
Thursday
8.30 – 9.30 Buffet breakfast of local and regional produce
10.00 – 1.00 Morning session
1.00 – 2.30 Lunch at Atelier Clos Mirabel
2.30 – 4.30 Afternoon session
6.00 – Aperitifs before 4 course dinner in the Manor Housee
Friday
8.30 – 9.30 Buffet breakfast of local and regional produce
10.00 – 1.00 Morning session
1.00 – 2.30 Lunch at Atelier Clos Mirabel
2.30 – 4.30 Afternoon session
6.00 – Aperitifs before 4 course dinner in the Manor House with
options for student reading
Saturday
8.30 – 9.30 Buffet Breakfast
11.00 – Check-out
Non-Writing Guests: we are more than happy to welcome non-writing guests, accompanying partners, family or friends. There are plenty of activities to experience around Clos Mirabel, that will make your holiday unforgettable Click here for more information.
