Writers in the Round - Songwriters and Poets - Creative Retreat On Star

Date: May 02, 2008

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http://witrhome.org
603-205-0552
PO Box 4726, Portsmouth, NH 03802

This year's Writers in the Round (WITR) Retreat on Star,
hosted by Deidre Randall, will take place from September 4 to 7, 2008. This is the fourth year running for the island salon, which draws songwriters and poets to Star Island from Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, Vermont and Connecticut. Star island is one of the Isles of Shoals, off the coast of Rye, NH. An intimate group of attendees work with two instructors in daily classes and workshops, and collaborate with each other, to create new poetry and songs. A hallmark of the retreat is the strong community of support that develops almost overnight. Past participants and instructors note this retreat as a highly productive time they look forward to each year. Supporting entities include; Club Passim, Portsmouth Community Radio, the Portsmouth Poet Laureate Program, the Poetry Society of New Hampshire, The Muses's Muse, and SongU.com.

This season's instructors include Cosy Sheridan, an award winning
songwriter, originally from the Seacoast area and now living in Moab, Utah, where she also runs a songwriting camp. Cosy's songwriting awards include a New Folk Award from the Kerrville Folk Festival and an award from the Telluride Bluegrass Festival. She's been called, "A Buddhist monk in a 12-step program trapped in the body of a singer-songwriter." Her wryly insightful songs have been showcased everywhere from Carnegie Hall to The Dr Demento Show. Cosy has also earned a national reputation as a songwriting teacher. She has been on the faculty at The Swannanoa Gathering in North Carolina, Summersongs in New York, the California Coast Music Camp and The
Black Hills Songwriting Retreat in South Dakota. Cosy is also a published author, having released a book, Ant Hymn, with William L. Bauhan, Publisher. Cosy's website can be viewed at http://www.cosysheridan.com/

The poetry instructor is Mimi White, one of the former Portsmouth Poet
Laureates. Mimi has an extensive teaching background and she is also the author of two collections of poetry: Into The Darkness We Go and The Singed Horizon, which was selected by Robert Creeley as the recipient of the 2000 Philbrick Poetry Award. A third volume of her poetry The Last Island, is coming out at the end of May, from Deerbrook Editions, a small press in Maine. While Poet Laureate of Portsmouth Mimi created the "What is Home" project, which attracted 60 participants who wrote works based on the theme under the guidance of five established writers. A chapbook "What is Home,"
was the core project's final outcome, which featured work by all the
project's participants. More information on Mimi White can be found on the Portsmouth Poet Laureate Program website,
http://www.pplp.org/FormerPoets.htm

The Writers in the Round Creative Retreat received a grant from the Isles of Shoals Association, plus a large private donation, to help defray costs for the 2008 season. This is exciting, given that Star Island Corporation had to raise fees 20%, to cover last season's shortfall. Consequently, the fees for attending the WITR Retreat will remain almost the same as the previous three years. Costs for the retreat range from single occupancy for $440.00 to triple occupancy for $356.00. A registration form is available by download from the website at: http://www.witrhome.org/WITRconfreg2008.pdf.

In order to register this year, please send a deposit of $160 and the
registration form to Deidre Randall/WITR, PO Box 4726, Portsmouth, NH 03802. This year, as part of their restructuring, Star Island will be able to allow the use of credit cards for payment of room and board fees. This year the WITR group's boat will leave Rye Harbor at 5pm on the 4th and return at 3pm on the 7th.

Host Deidre Randall is an award-winning singer/songwriter, a poet and the Hostess of “Writers in the Round”, a live, weekly radio showcase on
Portsmouth Community Radio, aired on Wednesdays from 7:00pm to 8:00pm. The website for all things WITR can be found at http://www.witrhome.org.