Monday, November 30, 2009

Guest Post: The Oxford University Creative Writing Summer School


by Emily Lacika

There are many great things about being a writer based in Switzerland. The misadventure of daily life is fodder enough for excellent material, and the opportunities for travel, well, that speaks for itself. However, there is a lack of creative writing programs conducted in English. So, wanting to take some time to work on my craft, I started looking for options online, and that's how I discovered the Oxford University Creative Writing Summer School.

The program sounded fabulous: three weeks of creative writing while staying in one of the Oxford Colleges, miles away from such intrusive things like laundry schedules and language classes. Priced at two thousand pounds, the program was not cheap, but at least with Oxford's proximity to Zurich, there would be no jet lag to contend with.

To apply to the program, you had to (1) provide a statement of intent, (2) procure a letter of reference, and (3) put together a portfolio of your writing that was relevant to your first-choice workshops. (When I applied, there were six workshops to choose from. I chose the Writing Fiction and the Writing Lives workshops.) After a week of frantic editing, I pulled off a respectable application. Needless to say that I was ecstatic when I learned that I was accepted into the 2008 program.

The program was held at Exeter College one of the oldest colleges in the Oxford University system, and being based there was spiritual from a writing perspective. The call to write was just about everywhere. My room, at the top of eighty stairs, had the most amazing view of the town's famed spires. The dining hall inspired one of the settings in Phillip Pullman's The Golden Compass and the father of Middle Earth himself, J.R.R. Tolkien, was an alum. In fact, a bust of the famous Inkling was illuminated under an incandescent halo in the college chapel.

The director warned us at the start that they planned to work us hard, and work us hard they did. Workshops were scheduled to meet Monday through Thursday, and each workshop met twice a week. Every day, there was a plenary lecture with topics ranging from readings and discussions conducted by writers in different media (novels, biographies, poetry, drama, screenwriting, etc.) to the business side of writing (publishers, agents and booksellers.) With all that on our plates, it was a wonder that I ever found the time to complete both the short and long assignments, as well as forming critique groups with the other writers in the program.

What I enjoyed most about the program was the camaraderie. Writing can be a lonely, existential-crisis-inducing experience, especially when living in a non-English speaking country. Going into the Oxford summer course, I expected lots of constructive feedback and lengthy meta-discussions about writing, but I did not think about the type of environment that would flourish when you threw thirty writers together from around the globe. For me, the friendships formed proved to be the most invaluable part of the entire program.

Emily Lacika moved to Zurich from Boston in 2005 and tries to maintain a precarious balance between writing and the other projects in her life: traveling, language learning, lindy-hopping, and trying to not irritate her neighbors when practicing the fiddle. You can follow her musings at her blog.

Have you participated in a writing program abroad? If so, Writer Abroad wants to hear about it. Please leave a comment or contact Chantal about writing a guest post.

35 comments:

  1. This is so cool..thanks so much for the info. Love it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Being a student you should always remember to collect diverse sources for setting forth relevant data as professional dissertation writers from papersmart.net are believed to gather all greatest mind of past centuries. Learn and teach at the same time while discussing any-what problem or making case study. Underline all strong features and strengthen insufficiency or lack of exactitude when doing a research for you or me on a daily basis.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Writing is essential for the office. As you pointed out, professionals have to make presentations and more in the office. Many more people are working independently and have to bid for jobs. They have to use words as part of their arsenal of office tools , to convince, persuade and show what they can do.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Overall, Loved the place! The appetizers were excellent, the Duck was terrific, and the sides were just as awesome! Excellent service and excellent food! Taxi Oxford to London

    ReplyDelete
  5. Vintage Dresses
    Wholesale Womens Mens Sexy Lingerie, Halloween Costumes Wholesalers, Plus Size Lingerie and Costumes Exporters Seller, Lingerie China Suppliers, Corsets Manufacturers, Adult Costumes Dropship, WalsonLingerie.com, WalsonLingerie.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Picked the money you'll need. Many weeks throughout a though, ton this specific equity credit line back. It actually is effortlessly! Fluctuated with reference to is that the higher terribly title loans beginning day development having U. S. of America day cash enhancements is plainly thought NO COST!!! That’s adequate.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Online learning is the new way of education, it offers many online degree programs like life experience degree accredited. These programs are based on internet and they are affordable and easy to earn.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Nice Post Thank you for the share the information from scholarship essay writing assistance

    ReplyDelete
  9. Salaried individuals don't need to experience the ill effects of any kind of deficiency of the store in light of the fact that they live and rely upon their steady employment. They draw the nice looking measure of the pay every month. payday loans chicago

    ReplyDelete
  10. Very interesting blog, looking forward to more wonderful! Armani UK

    ReplyDelete
  11. Very interesting blog, looking forward to more wonderful! Armani outlet

    ReplyDelete
  12. The best thing to do is to get hold of your credit record from one of the offices. The three primary offices are Equifax, Experian and Call Credit. On the off chance that there is some sort of slip-up then you can get it sorted. check cashing

    ReplyDelete
  13. That’s why we have a propensity to feel you ample and commenced twenty 4 hour offerings. It's terribly simple to locating U.S.

    ReplyDelete
  14. They usually deal with their clients through internet and basically provide term papers,research papers,essay,articles and dissertations to students who ask them for writing assistance.
    BestEssay.Education feedback

    ReplyDelete
  15. Ajrin Construction Inc. is a licensed New York general construction firm working as General Contractors in NYC, truly devoted to our services and remain firm until our Clients’ purposes are served to satisfaction. We feel much concerned of the value of your property, safety and security more than our profit or anything else.Home Improvement Westchester County

    ReplyDelete
  16. I'd additionally motivate everybody in order to save this site for your preferred support to assist distribute the term. I will make use of this info with regard to my personal composition subjects. Right now follow-up right here Cash Advance Continue the good work & Great work.

    ReplyDelete
  17. AnonymousJuly 23, 2019

    Shadow Creation is the process to change the color of an image or video..Shadow Creation It means correcting the lighting, white color balance, red or blue color balance, so that the image looks more clear or natural

    ReplyDelete
  18. Our blog is on general topics and we accepts guest posts. Feel free to reach out anytime.

    ReplyDelete
  19. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails