Our memorable June 2010 workshop inspired participants from the United States, Italy, Canada, the Netherlands, and Australia, a wonderful group of writers, thinkers and workers.
The tentative Summer 2011 dates for our program are June 5—11, 2011, to be held again in the entrancing and unusual town of Santo Stefano di Sessanio, awarded by UNESCO for its Conservation of Cultural Landscapes, located high in the Apennine mountains inside the Gran Sasso & Monti della Laga National Parks in the Abruzzo region of Italy.
Check back here in September for more details about our expanded program.
Experience travel in the grand tradition of times past when great American writers sought
inspiration in unspoiled European cities and villages.
Allow yourself time and seclusion to create literature from your life experience as you craft
creative nonfiction essays—memoir, food and travel writing.
- Explore their understanding of the world
- Reflect on moments of loss, change, new opportunity
- Make meaning of travel experience
- Find a connection with Italian culture
- Be inspired by proximity to the evocative power of a small burgh in the Abruzzo Apennines
- A wondrous part of Italy just a 90 minute drive from Italy’s capital but seemingly days away from the motorbikes and crowds of Rome’s noisy city life
- A provocative countryside of haunting loveliness and spiritual depth
- An ancient place where women weave linens on antique looms and stories seem etched into worn stone walls, cobbled lanes and winding stair steps
- Visit caves of local hermitages to appreciate pilgrimage and devotion
- Explore the nearby ancient castle of Rocco Calascio
- Wander and write in the Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga National Parks
- Comfortable rooms of medieval simplicity, their restoration guided by a deep-felt appreciation for local history
- Historically preserved architecture
- Blankets woven from the wool of local sheep and fine antique linens
- Warmth from wood burning fireplaces, heated floors and Philippe Starck bathroom appointments
Feast on traditional Abruzzesi cuisine and local wines—breakfast and dinner
are included
- Evening meals in the hotel dining room lit entirely by candlelight or in other locally-owned trattorie around the burgh
- Italian breakfast daily in the hotel—charmingly served cappuccino and sweet rolls and a choice of more filling dishes, as you like
- Mid-day snack or lunch purchased from local shops
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Daily morning sessions will include instruction and exercises concerning the craft of creative nonfiction. We will hold afternoon gatherings to discuss readings, share participants’ writing, analyze others’ work and gain valuable feedback. Each participant will receive regular written and verbal feedback from the instructor as well as one thirty-minute individual conference.
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A reading list of local history and creative nonfiction—memoir, travel writing, food writing—will be given to each participant. The literature on the list will familiarize participants with the craft of creative nonfiction and serve as a starting point for discussion and modeling during the week of writing in Italy.
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Writers may wish to bring a long-shelved work to revive and replenish or come empty-handed and ready to respond to the inspiration found in Santo Stefano di Sessanio. Our workshop will include:
Become inspired to make meaning of life experience, to create a first person narrator who writes with complexity and layered thought, to craft a memoir essay or begin a book-length work. Take advantage of the Abruzzesi solitude to consider, for example, a recent life-changing situation, to revive your spirits, to re-imagine personal circumstances with a new perspective. Learn the craft of creative nonfiction—of writing scene and summary, of balancing illuminating details with meaningful reflection.
Learn the art of composing the experience of a place, of finding and revealing the heart of an unfamiliar locale, of clarifying a critical essence that can be known only through watchful observation and reflection. Carefully note architectural detail, patterns in old stone steps, symbolism on church walls, vistas of green and gold. Weave such imagery with historical research to add texture to travel essays.
Research the Italian food typical of Abruzzo, perhaps to find the connection between the foods served in Santo Stefano and local farming traditions. Uncover ancient practices that shape a dish and understand the love implicit in each “Mangia, Mangia.” Focus on one ingredient and trace its path from farm to table or write about the leisure of the evening meal and its relationship to the meandering style of Italian conversation.
Further understand the life of contemplation as you discover caves and 
natural shelters that have become hermitages in the most isolated parts of the Abruzzesi mountains, sacred places that evoke centuries of spiritual resonance. Experience the sensation of finding yourself in an unreal world dominated by infinite space as we visit Rocca Calascio, a castle set high on the edge of Campo Imperatore. Find further solitude and seclusion in the vastness of the National Park of Gran Sasso-Laga, one of the largest protected areas in Europe.
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| Helen earned her M.A. in English at Georgetown University and has taught writing for 27 years in Washington, DC for Trinity University and Gonzaga College High School. She writes for Rome Post and Voce Italiana and has appeared on the Diane Rehm Show Reader’s Review Panel. Helen often writes of her Italian American experiences on her blog, Hang onto The Vine. Helen was awarded the Herlihy Award for Outstanding Teaching in 2006. On reading a Washington Post article describing the rebirth of Santo Stefano, Helen immediately planned to visit the town near her grandfather’s birthplace to experience its restoration. In 2006 she realized her goal. It was the same year she worked on an archeological dig with the Earthwatch Institute and discovered a new passion—15th century Italian ceramics. She enjoyed the process and organized a team of volunteers to continue the work the following summer with ceramologist Dr. Anna Moore-Valeri. She has returned to Santo Stefano annually since 2006 and has developed close ties with townspeople and familiarity with the town’s unique character. | Kathryn was born in Southern California and has lived in Northern California since the early 1970s. She earned her M.A. in English at San Francisco State University and has since helped countless writers find their writing voices and make meaning of life experience. She teaches literature, composition and creative writing for Diablo Valley College, facilitates writing workshops and readings, and edits manuscripts. She was awarded the Educator of the Year 2008 by the San Ramon Valley Rotary Club. Kathryn’s research of the life and art of Utah landscape artist Ella Peacock resulted in her 2005 book, First Sight of the Desert, a blend of biography and memoir. Her travel, memoir and arts essays have appeared in various publications, including the San Francisco Chronicle, American Art Review, Salon.com, and Travelers’ Tales anthologies. She currently writes arts reviews for the Piedmont Post and is writing for Polka Dot Dancer, a film project documenting a flamenco dance company in Santa Barbara, California. |
For more detailed information, answers to your questions, and to enroll, contact Helen or Kathryn at info@ItalyinOtherWords.com.