The Magic of Rhythmically Writing

Description

A Transformational Writing Experience for Women

This virtual women’s retreat guides you through a set of writing practices designed to bring you home to your self in mind, body, heart, and will.

Open to all who identify as women or non-binary.

Why has poetry been considered, the world over, especially close to spiritual power?  While many think the reason involves inspiration and sensitivity,  there is a more accessible power at work: careful attention to certain techniques of the poet’s craft. The Magic of Rhythmically Writing brings these ancient secrets home through a system developed by poet Annie Finch over decades of scholarly study, artistic and spiritual practice, and teaching.

 Like a yoga class for the mind, The Magic of Rhythmically Writing guides you through certain language-shapes that enhance the energy of mind, body, heart, and will. During the retreat, you will move through a process of rhythmical journaling in five language patterns, each of which opens a door into a different part of ourselves. This unique writing practice, combined with moving ritual and a supportive women’s circle, reveals the mysteries of the poet’s ancient path for uniting body and spirit, idea and intuition.

You don’t need to be a writer, artist, yogi, meditator, or seeker to gain self-awareness and personal growth from Annie’s holistic process (though all these have benefitted from The Magic of Rhythmically Writing).  You don’t even need any writing experience. All you need is an open heart and a notebook.

No previous creative writing experience is necessary.

In advance of the online workshop, registered participants will receive a preparatory email with special instructions to prepare for the day.

The workshop meets over five weekly 2-hour Zoom ssessions and also includes a private dedicated class discussion circle in Annie’s online community which will be open for an additional two weeks after the class is over. The class is limited to 9 students. Tuition is $349 for the five weeks plus two additional weeks in the private discussion circle. Registration for this class will be processed through Poet & Priestess Community.  To register, please visit poetandpriestess.org and click Join to join the community.  After your request to join is approved, choose Classes in the left hand menu and click on the class name.

If you have further questions, feel free to contact us: info@poetandpriestess.com. We look forward to seeing you there!

RESPONSES FROM PARTICIPANTS

“The workshop was enriching and magical! 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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“Annie is a force of nature!”

FAQ ABOUT MAGIC OF RHYTHMIC WRITING

Q  have never written creatively before. Will I get anything from this workshop?

Yes. The Magic of Rhythmically Writing is a completely holistic experience. It builds on rhythmic knowledge that is equally available to all of us, and it presumes no prior writing experience.

Q What do you mean “writing and healing”? Is this a writing workshop, a healing workshop, a personal growth workshop, or . . . ?

It is any and all of this, depending on your needs.  Rhythmical language opens a channel between the conscious and unconscious, and

The Magic of Rhythmically Writing offers the healing and growth that arise from radical self-awareness. At the same time, the secrets of rhythmical writing you will learn through The Magic of Rhythmically Writing will help any writer to be more effective. 

Q I’m not really interested in writing, but I am interested in developing myself psychologically and spiritually. Will this workshop help me on my path?

Yes. The skill of rhythmic language can connect us with wisdom beyond our conscious selves. The tools you will learn in The Magic of Rhythmically Writing offer a path to communicate with unheard parts of yourself.

 Q I have an advanced degree in creative writing. Will I learn anything in this course that I don’t know already?

Yes. The vast majority of graduate programs today, even in poetry writing, don’t teach rhythm and meter.  And even if you have learned some of the same material, you will find that The Magic of Rhythmically Writing approaches rhythmic language in a unique manner that incorporates body, heart, will, and spirit as well as mind.

Q How did you develop this method?

I trace my heritage to Norse volurs and Celtic bards, and I was raised with the rhythms of poetry spoken aloud. In graduate school, I pursued my passion to understand poetic meter and began to notice its hidden meanings. I developed ways to teach and write in a range of language rhythms in my own poetry, and as my spirituality evolved and I gained experience in ritual, eventually I came to integrate craft and spirit.

If you still have questions, feel free to contact us with any questions: info@poetandpriestess.com, or you may schedule a phone call with Annie to discuss the class. 

Annie Finch is an award-winning poet and writer, author of Spells: New and Selected Poems, The Poetry Witch Little Book of Spells, and Among the Goddesses. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, The Penguin Book of Twentieth-Century American Poetry, and onstage at Carnegie Hall. Beloved as a teacher, she is the author of A Poet’s Craft: A Comprehensive Guide to Making and Sharing Your Poetry (University of Michigan Press) and founder of Magic of Rhythmic Writing, a unique and accessible system of self-transformation. Annie earned a B.A. from Yale and a Ph.D. from Stanford and has performed her poetry on five continents. Based in Maine and Portugal, she travels the world and online to perform and offer workshops and retreats.