The Words Beneath the Stones
A Writer’s Retreat from Edinburgh to the Isle of Skye
with Andrew Todhunter and Jonah Willihnganz
August 31 - September 7, 2023
In this seven-day writers’ retreat, taking us from Edinburgh to the Isle of Skye, we will explore how an intimate relationship with the landscape can nourish and inform our creative work. Through walking and writing, we will approach the landscape as a trusted companion that can guide our craft and hold us in the truth of our experience.
The natural world offers us both refuge and profound lessons in our work with language. For the writer, its form can teach our own. Its shape and movement can model elements of writing craft, from economy and rhythm to suspense and point of view. The land can show us how to balance the extravagant and the spare, connect the external and the internal, and track the arc of transformation. Its strangeness and beauty also open us to contradiction and surprise. Its uncompromising scale calls for our deep presence and humility. The fundamental directness of the Scottish landscape invites simplicity, spontaneity, authenticity.
Inspired by courses the instructors developed at Stanford University, the retreat will offer participants an opportunity to deepen their craft and creative process in relation to the landscape. The retreat will include short talks, discussions, creative practices and exercises, and daily hikes. Our work will be collaborative in spirit, and participants may share their daily writing exercises, but we will not workshop or critique submitted manuscripts. Each day will also provide ample time for reflection and solitude.
Note: This retreat is now full. If you would like to join the waitlist, or be notified of similar retreats, please email retreats (at) andrewtodhunter.com.