Deep Listening: A Writing Retreat with Christian McEwen
with Christian McEwen
November 4, 2023
Wherever we are, what we hear is mostly noise. When we ignore it, it disturbs us.
When we listen to it, we find it fascinating.
The sound of a truck at fifty miles an hour. Static between stations. Rain.
—John Cage
In this two-hour workshop we will take the time to listen, both to one another, and to birds and trucks and trees and wind and rain. We will experiment with drawing what we hear, and grow those raw sounds into poems, songs and stories. No experience necessary.
Teacher
Christian McEwen
Christian McEwen is a freelance writer and workshop leader, originally from the UK. She is the author of several books, including World Enough & Time: On Creativity and Slowing Down, now in its eighth printing. Her articles have appeared in The Nation, The Village Voice, The American Scholar, and Shambhala Sun, and she has edited several books, including Jo’s Girls: Tomboy Tales of High Adventure; The Alphabet of the Trees: A Guide to Nature Writing; and Sparks from the Anvil: the Smith College Poetry Interviews. Christian has enjoyed residencies at Yaddo, MacDowell, Mesa Refuge and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and has received a fellowship in playwriting from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. She is currently working on a book called In Praise of Listening. www.christianmcewen.com
Learn more about Christian McEwen
Christian McEwen is a freelance writer and workshop leader, originally from the UK. She is the author of several books, including World Enough & Time: On Creativity and Slowing Down, now in its eighth printing. Her articles have appeared in The Nation, The Village Voice, The American Scholar, and Shambhala Sun, and she has edited several books, including Jo’s Girls: Tomboy Tales of High Adventure; The Alphabet of the Trees: A Guide to Nature Writing; and Sparks from the Anvil: the Smith College Poetry Interviews. Christian has enjoyed residencies at Yaddo, MacDowell, Mesa Refuge and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and has received a fellowship in playwriting from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. She is currently working on a book called In Praise of Listening. www.christianmcewen.com
Learn more about Christian McEwen