November 15, 2023 – November 19, 2023
Exploring your rhythms in poems that sing
Rooted in charm, chant, and spell, the rhythmic language of poetic meter remains a magical path between body and soul, idea and intuition, humanity and nature. This ancient secret knowledge can animate your poems—whether read or performed— with a uniquely memorable quality that can be attained in no other way!
Together we will journey through the central poetic meters of the English language, reading aloud, creating, revising, and sharing new poems. Our adventure is guaranteed to uncover amazing new aspects and potential in your own unique poetic voice—and to provide you with amazing tools that will serve you for a lifetime.
The Himalayan Workshop sessions are held in the open or in the book lounge. Some meals maybe served in the open too if the weather is good. The outdoors are a very inviting and inspiring here.
The venue is the 5-star rated Himalayan Writing Retreat (you can read our reviews here).
While you’re here, walk in the wilderness, bask in the warmth of a sublime sunset, and gaze at the stars. Let your eyes feast on the magnificent Himalayan dusks and dawns, your ears on the live birdsong concert, your lungs on clean crisp mountain air, and your taste buds on the delectable, homely fare.
One of our past attendees – Radhika, has beautifully captured her experience of this retreat in her words. You can read her post Here.
The fees for this workshop is INR 27200* (+ taxes). This covers a twin shared room for all five nights, all meals. However, if you register by Nov 1 you will only have to pay the early bird price of INR 24900* (+ taxes).
Maximum ten participants are allowed, so apply soon to secure your seat.
Questions? Call or WhatsApp +91 73035 16665.
About the Instructor
Annie Finch (Poet, Writer and Performer)
Annie Finch is an American poet, translator, editor, and teacher. She is the author of six books of poetry, most recently Spells: New and Selected Poems. Finch, described in The Dictionary of Literary Biography as “a central figure in American poetry,” is recognized for her contemporary reclaiming of formal poetic craft and her mesmerizing poetry performances. Her poetry has appeared in the New York Times, Poetry Magazine, and the Penguin Book of Twentieth-Century American Poetry and has been translated into Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, French, Malayalam, Portuguese, Polish, Russian, and Spanish. Finch’s other works include influential essays, books, and anthologies on poetics, poetry-writing, feminism, and women’s earth-based spirituality. Educated at Yale and Stanford University, where she earned her Ph.D., Annie Finch has taught widely at universities and literary gatherings and is the founder of Meter Magic Spiral, where she teaches poetry online. She has performed her poetry in India, Mexico, Africa, and throughout Europe.
Detailed Program – Poetry Masterclass
Workshop Preparation
Although the class has “writing” in the title and we will be writing down our poems, this workshop is really more about inner listening than writing. The writing is a way to keep track of what you hear inside.
So the best way to warm up for the workshop, if you’d like to do that, will be to listen to the rhythmic language that’s already part of you. Invite bits of language from previous parts of your life to return. It could be a song you knew when you were a tiny child, or a name from long ago. Then, appreciate the bits of rhythm that compel you now: a phrase that stays in your mind, the rhythms of song lyrics, the patterns of what people say to you in different moods.
Once you have some pieces of language, listen for rhythms. Speak them aloud a few times, make up a tune and sing them, or dance the way they sound. Do you hear any regular patterns of bigger-louder and smaller-softer syllables?
If you want, write it down and notate the rhythms (the method we will be learning is with an accent (/) over the stronger sounds, and a “cup” (u) over the softer sounds. Try putting the pieces of language into groups based on the patterns of their rhythms. How do the different patterns affect you?
Materials
For your journaling, please bring at least one notebook suitable for journaling, and whatever writing utensil you prefer.
For metrical writing, you will ideally bring:
Plenty of large-size paper (ideally typing size or 8 1/2″ by 11) (you can use a large-sized notebook also)
and at least one pencil and eraser
Schedule
First Evening, After Dinner
We will enjoy a brief, lively experiment with accent and rhythm using the meters of our own names to build confidence in the power of our poetic “ear” and arouse curiosity about our metrical journey. Each poet will also create a small rhythmic “talisman” to set our own goal for the days ahead.
Day 1
We will start with a discussion of our own rhythmic histories and genealogies, and then we will become acquainted with our first meter: the passionate, fiery drive of the anapestic rhythm. We will read some poems aloud to get a sense of the meter; then we will have a chance to write in the meter and share our poems aloud, beginning to get comfortable with the rhythm and the particular kind of voices and subject matter that this meter brings out in us. In the afternoon, we will return to writing, sharing, and exploring our second meter, the predominant meter in English language poetry, iambic rhythm with its measured momentum. While most of us have been raised to believe that iambic meter is the most important or even the only viable meter in English language poetry, we will now have the opportunity to understand iambics as only one of a spectrum of meters, no more worthy than any other. As you share and perform your poem in this meter, you will be invited to feel the impact of its clarity and mental power.
Day 2
You have now learned the basic tools of meter. We will review to make sure that they are becoming part of each person’s rhythmical vocabulary, and then dive into hearing, reciting, and absorbing one of the most compelling of poetic meters, the drumbeat of trochaic meter. As we learn to create our own words in this hypnotic rhythm and share them with each other, we access a vein of energy that invites heretofore hidden themes and expressive tones in our poems—a deep, grounded earth energy. In the afternoon, because each experience with meter builds on the others, we will find that learning our final meter will feel both new and familiar. The beautiful, rolling dactylic rhythm, meter of the heart and of compassion, has been shown to help patients to recover more quickly from a heart attack. We will explore dactyls together, reading aloud great poetry in this meter and then creating and sharing our own dactylic poems together.
Day 3
This day will be used for review, sharing, exploration, performance, and integrating into your poetic awareness all we have learned. We will review how to scan poems, how to best perform poems in meter, and introduce the concepts of “deep scansion” and “metrical diversity.” And we will discuss the implications of the meters you have learned for translation and for connecting with the traditional meters of Sanskrit, Hindi, and other languages throughout India. You will also have the opportunity to share some of your free-verse poems to uncover which meters you have been using there, and to develop awareness of your own unique metrical vocabulary.
On the last afternoon, we will combine our voices in a final collaborative poem, bringing together all four of the meters we have learned. And you will be invited to set an intention for how you will incorporate your new knowledge of meter into your poetry going forward.
Final Poetry Performance (participation optional)
Metrical poetry, like music, is meant to be experienced aloud. At the end of the workshop, you will be invited to share the final versions of your favourite poems from the workshop, speaking them aloud three times as they are meant to be appreciated.
Participant Testimonials
“Annie is the teacher that many of us yearn for, and some are lucky enough to work with. There is such a need for her earth and heart-based teachings.”
“I felt on a deep level that your workshop and exercises and your instruction were magical, and I feel transformed in a way that has already helped me work through some difficult personal subject matter.”
“It was amazing to experience how the rhythms spoke to different parts of our healing processes. I have continued to work on what I acquired that day and note its continuous effects on my creative life as well as my mindset.”
Travel and Stay
The Himalayan Writing Retreat is built for writing and learning. We are rated 5-star on google and facebook.
Once here, you will be sharing a room with a fellow participant (unless we’ve confirmed a single). All essentials like food, hot water, towels etc. are provided. No hidden costs.
It can snow in winter. Weather can vary and the weather chart of Mukteshwar (12 km from the retreat) is here. A pair of sturdy walking shoes, some rain protection and an extra layer or two are always a good idea.
Our rooms are built to let nature in and inspire you. To see pictures of the rooms click here . To see pictures of the writing spaces click here
Depending upon where you travel in from, you can reach us by road, train or air. Even if flying or taking a train, the final stretch is a drive, and the last 150 metres is a walk.
By Road
The retreat is a 370 km/9 hours drive from Delhi. If driving, we recommend you leave early. Note that parking at the retreat is on the road – we do not have any private parking. We have limited driver accommodation, so please check in advance.
Overnight Volvo buses ply between Haldwani and Delhi, the more reliable of which are government operated. You con book those here. Private Volvos and Sleeper buses also ply between Delhi and Haldwani, which you can book on redbus. Make sure you pick a bus with a high (4+) rating.
By Train
There are three trains a day from Delhi to Kathgodam, the nearest train station. Some others also come in from Kolkata, Lucknow and Dehradun. From Delhi, Ranikhet Express is a convenient overnight train both ways, but finding tickets can be difficult.
Most people prefer to take the Kathgodam Shatabdi (Delhi dep: 6.20 AM, Kathgodam Arr: 11.40 AM). A cab from Kathgodam to Satkhol takes about 2.5 hrs / Rs. 2200 (more for a big car). Cabs are often shared by participants.
By Air
There are daily flights from Delhi to Pantnagar. A cab from Pantnagar to Satkhol takes about 3.5 hr / Approx INR 4K.
There are direct flights from Mumbai and Bangalore to Bareilly 3-4 days a week. Satkhol is a 5hr / INR 5.5k cab ride from Bareilly. (More for a big car). Cabs are often shared by participants.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Why should I choose HWR Workshops?
- Personal Attention: We don’t take more than 10 students in a class. You get a lot of personal attention and feedback. No classrooms of 20-30 people or one-way pre-recorded videos here.
- Class Quality: For most courses, we filter our participants. You can’t just pay and sign up. We need to see a writing sample (in our application form) to ensure the class is of a uniform standard.
- Quality of faculty: No lightweights here. Many of our faculty are award-winners. All are experts and great teachers. We don’t settle for average.
- Feedback scores: Across courses, we are rated 4.5/5, or higher. You can read our reviews HERE.
- Do I get a certificate of participation?
Yes, certificates are available on request.
- Any discounts for students / other categories?
At the Himalayan Writing Retreat, we follow a strict no-discount policy.
- Is the workshop fee refundable?
Our cancellation policy is as follows:
- Online Writing Workshop: 100% refund if cancellation 2 weeks before the event start date, 50% if cancellation one week before the start date, 0% if less than one week before the start date.
- Creative Writing Workshop at the Himalayas: 100% refund if cancellation 4 weeks before the event start date, 50% if cancellation two weeks before the start date, 0% if less than two weeks before the start date.
- Is the Himalayan Writing Retreat a business or an NGO?
The Himalayan Writing Retreat is a social enterprise. It works closely and actively with two local NGOs in its community work initiatives: Chirag and Alaap. In 2020, HWR raised INR 6.1 Lakhs to support the Chirag School.
Have more questions? Feel free to write to us at info@himalayanwritingretreat.com or connect with us at +91 73035 16665 (Call/ WA/Signal).
Event Summary
* INR 24900*** (+ taxes) is the early bird price. Regular price of INR 27200*** (+ taxes) applicable after Nov 1, 2023 *
** Taxes not included