Summer Writing Workshop Series at Pennsyl Pointe Retreat

A Beginners Writing Workshop for adults will be offered on August 10th, 2008 at the Pennsyl Pointe Writers’ Retreat. This is a five hour workshop for novice writers who would like to learn more about the fundamentals of story writing. The workshop focuses on basic elements of fiction to help new writers bring a story to life on the page. The workshop starts at noon and ends at 5 PM. The fee is $50 and includes refreshments. Writing activities take place in and around the Pennsyl Pointe retreat house which is located at 22 Shady Lane, Albrightsville, PA. The house is in a beautiful wooded area along the Mud Run Creek in Carbon County.

On August 16th, 2008, a Creative Writing Workshop for Children (aged 8-12) will be offered at Pennsyl Pointe. This is a four hour workshop, starting at 1 PM that cultivates kids’ creative writing skills. Activities focus on inventing original characters, creating story settings, and developing basic plots. The fee for the workshop is $40. Refreshments are provided.

Instruction for both workshops is provided by Colleen Davis, proprietor of Readletter Services, a successful freelance writing business operating since 2001. She holds a B.A. and M.S. from the University of Pennsylvania where she has taught summer writing workshops for the past three years. She is also the founder and facilitator of Liberties Scribblers, a Philadelphia-based creative writing group. For the past two years, the Scribblers have sponsored a seasonal series of story slams at the Standard Tap pub in the Northern Liberties section of Philadelphia.

Special assistance for the Children’s Workshop will be provided by Isabel Ramos who, in 2007, won 1st Prize from the Philadelphia Young Playwrights for her play Me Name-O Eduardo.

Inspiration at Pennsyl Pointe

Although I’ve traveled to many other places, I’ve lived most of my life in Pennsylvania. Because the state has such a range of assets – from historical treasures and cultural wealth to vast natural beauty – it offers great inspiration to the creative soul. Experiences from a Pennsylvania childhood have shaped the sensibility of some of our country’s greatest writers including (but not limited to) John Updike, August Wilson and Annie Dillard. The establishment of the Pennsyl Pointe Writers’ Retreat in the Pocono Mountains is part of an effort to make sure that the noble line of PA scribblers continues to flourish in the 21st Century. The Pocono environment adds its own sort of magic to the writing process. Pennsyl Pointe is located in Albrightsville, a village in Carbon County. The region is populated with an extensive range of creatures – both animal and human – that offer recurring surprises to the inquiring mind. The next few posts will examine some exceptional critters not likely to be found outside of Pennsyl Pointe.

When the writing gets tough, the tough get coffee

For the past week or so, a lot of my time has gone into organizing the various aspects of our August writing workshops. Some of that work involves publicizing the workshops through other creative outlets in the Pocono community. I’ve been very fortunate to get a lot of support from local entrepreneurs who’ve worked hard to create their own successful businesses in the Pocono region. Giuseppe, the proprietor of Caffe Lantico, has been extremely helpful – not only because he posts information about the Pennsyl Pointe workshops. He also provides the terrific coffee Pocono people need to fuel their next masterpiece or whitewater adventure. Giuseppe’s coffee is special, made in the old fashioned Italian style. He also makes fresh mozzarella which I buy religiously to pair up with local farm grown tomatoes and basil from my garden. This post was not intended to make you hungry. It’s just here to let you know that when hunger strikes you can always fight back with Giuseppe’s cannoli.

Writing Workshops at Last

Like Punxatawney and Pottsville, Pennsyl Pointe wasn’t built in a day. The past few weeks have been hectic. Plans to launch a new series of writing workshops at this wooded Pocono retreat have resulted in a long and overwhelming to-do list. But after plenty of hard work and good planning, August 2008 will mark the public inauguration of Pennsyl Pointe Writing Workshops for scribblers of all ages and experience.

In late June, we held a test run with a two-day workshop for experienced creative writers. The session used a pilot format that united a group of talented writers from Philadelphia for a 48 hour program of writing, great meals, creative critiques, communing with nature, mutual creative support, and of course, dessert. The good reviews on everything --including the fruit salad -- seemed to suggest that the time had come to let the rest of the world in on a good thing. If you re-visit this blog tomorrow you should be able to find a preliminary workshop schedule and some registration forms for the retreat’s next offerings.

Pennsyl Pointe is a real place. It's where I spend the better part of myself -- you know, the bits no collection agency can take away from you, the stuff no one else would ever pay you for. It's a beautiful spot that I long for before I'm even out of the driveway. The Pennsyl Pointe Blog is currently under construction. Come back in a few days and you'll find photos, workshop schedules and more background. In the meantime, that's me in the corner.