-
Writing workshops and get together sessions for writers in the Algarve
Hello writers and dabblers, I will facilitate some Discovery Writing Workshops this spring and summer at my home on a hill near Santo Estêvão, East Algarve, Tavira. We have lots of space for inspiration. The first session will be Friday, 18 April 2025, at 2:30pm. Writing with a group can often spur writers to accomplish more than when writing alone. Why I write. From seven to twenty-eight, I drank the cool aid of a cult. My family are still believers. When I left, my life was rudderless without family connections, as shunning was what they were instructed to do. I had to find my own community. As a child, education wasn’t encouraged…
-
Open Mic Night – Photos
As part of the Alvaro de Campos Festa, I helped organise an Open Mic Night in English and Portuguese on Friday 22 November. It was a fun evening of kindness, sharing, poetry and song. Big thanks to all the performers, poets and especially to Tela Leao for translation and for introducing everyone. Also gratitude to the Casa Alvaro de Campos for use of the venue. Here are a few photos:Ana Cristina, Tela Leao, Fernanda Guerra, Isabel Pereira, Jay Artale, John Williams, Malcolm Highfield, Marjorie Mallon, Mark Evans, Miguel Andrade, Nana Rebelo, Timothy Halford, Zizi. Timothy Halford would like a regular Poetry Slam in Tavira. Get in touch if you want…
-
Rob Hopkins Tour – What If?
Rob Hopkins founder of the Transition Movement is touring Portugal starting in the North and reaching Faro on the 26 October. “Transition is a movement of communities coming together to reimagine and rebuild our world.” The tour will include interactive workshops, discussions and conversations. Central to this tour is the theme of imagination, especially in times of crisis. This tour takes place as Rob Hopkins’ book is published in Portuguese. “What If: Unleashing the Power of Imagination to Create the Future We Want.” Rob says: “Given the state of the world, the message of despair is pretty convincing. Things look grim. But something about that doesn’t sit quite right with…
-
Scared of Shakespeare? Puzzled by Poetry?
Birkenhead-born writer, David Roberts has a passion for shipyards and literature. A mix of metal, blood and tears came to mind as we talked about his life and the literature course he has been teaching in the Algarve. I had seen the course advert at São Brás de Alportel Museum, and I had it in the back of my mind to find out more. Fortunately, the week before Christmas, I bumped into Maxine Srivastava (a fellow member of the Algarve Archaeology Association), in the British emporium known as Iceland, and so over the cheddar cheese and pork pies, I listened as she enthused about the literature course she is taking with…
-
Make Hay
The Hay Festival programme is out. Details arrived by email on Saturday, which is fortunate as the next letter of the A-Z writing challenge is H. The Hay Literature Festival is more than a book event. It is two weeks of stimulation and reflective entertainment. This year the dates are 26 May to 5 June 2016 We are not going to make the trip to Wales, but that does not stop me looking through the programme and highlighting writers, drooling over books, and soaking up ideas. Here are a few events, just in the history section, that caught my eye. Sinclair McKay and Thomas BriggsBLETCHLEY AND ENIGMAEvent 11 • Friday 27 May 2016, 1pm • Venue:…
-
Bernardo Carvalho and Will Self – Flipside
One of the liveliest sessions of Flipside was created by the presence of Will Self. He explained that he enjoyed exploring women characters “as he is not a very manly man.” “It is like shape-shifting to explore the female persona.” Will read from his book “Umbrella”, and the whole text came alive as he invited the audience to hear his London 1930s characters’ voices. On the same platform, Bernardo Carvalho shared his thoughts on identity. He read from his novel “Nine Nights” and said that in contrast to Will’s novel, he felt his writing lacked description. Will contradicted this observation with examples of description from “Nine Nights” and then made profound statements about…
-
More photos from Flipside
-
Flipside – Other Carnivals – New stories from Brazil
This last event at Flipside was introduced by Liz Calder, as a celebration of some of Brazil’s writers. Everyone attending the workshop was given the book “Other Carnivals – New stories from Brazil”. This is a book of 12 short stories and four of the authors, were not only present, but they read parts of their work. The artwork in the book is by Jeff Fisher. He also created the colourful and distinctive artwork for the Flipside stage. The Suffolk Chair Collection should perhaps also get a mention as the classic wooden chairs were a feature of the stage. First, Ariana Lisboa read from her short story “That year in Rishikesh.”…
-
Flipside day 2 – Brazilian Literature and Music Festival
The sun and smiles came out for the 3rd day and final day of the Flipside Festival. Identity was the theme that permeated the day yesterday and dislocation and exile is the undercurrent to the first session today. Adriana Lisboa and James Scudamore both shared aspects of their novels that delve into this rich source of inspiration. Born in Rio de Janeiro, Adriana Lisboa has many awards, including the José Saramago Prize for her novel, “Symphony in White”. Her new novel “Crow Blue” is one of the many Portuguese/Brazilian books that Bloomsbury has published in translation. This book was launched today at Flipside. This event was chaired by Daniel Hahn , the Director…
-
Flipside – Brazilian Society through Football
In the lunchtime event on Sunday at Flipside, the author Alex Bellos talked to Susie Nicklin from the British Council, about the Brazilian defeat in the 1950’s World Cup to Uruguay. As old footage was shown, Bellos commentated and explained the coverage which focused both on the pitch and the animated and excited crowd. He told the audience at Flipside, that after the defeat all aspects of that game were considered, even the fact that the team wore white and there was a thought that this was the wrong colour for a Brazilian team. This prompted a competition to be developed with the condition that all four colours of the…
