This week is meant to be a chance for serious writers to take their work to the next level. Visiting will be major Irish writers Claire Keegan, Paula Meehan and Theo Dorgan. I'll be there as the visiting writer from America.
For those who want to explore Ireland, we hope that you will leave yourself a week before or after the conference to travel and get to know this wonderful country. However, since this conference does not offer academic credit, we will be able to schedule in a little more free time. This time may be used to generate new writing (exercises will be offered) or to explore on your own this area of outstanding natural beauty--there are, for example, spectacular cliff walks on Howth Head (where Leopold Bloom proposed to Molly and she gave him literature's most memorable "Yes"), boat trips to an island with monastic ruins, bird walks on Bull's Island, or a trip to the megalithic ruins at Newgrange (older than the pyramids.)
Ideally, this is a week to focus on your own writing, so we recommend that if you want to travel with family or significant others, you do this before or after the residency.
PARTICIPANTS
The cost for the week (workshops, lectures, readings, and a field trip to Dublin) will be $1,150.
Airfare and travel to the residency is on your own, but we will help advise you on travel plans if you wish. Aer Lingus is the national airline and a roundtrip ticket for direct flights from Boston to Dublin in October currently costs $635. You may be able to find cheaper flights with other airlines, especially if you're willing to have one or two stops along the way.
Bed and breakfast rates are as follows. We will book a room for you on a first-come basis:
The Deppes have stayed in and enjoyed both Ann's and the King Sitric. The two buildings are next door to each other, and both establishments overlook Howth's scenic East Pier and its lighthouse. Ann's is cozier and you'll get to know proprietors Una and Jonathan, who have a wealth of local knowledge and stories. The King Sitric is plusher and makes for a nice splurge if you can afford it. Both places have wireless Internet connection and terrific breakfasts.
To summarize costs, here's approximately what you might expect to spend, based on current exchange rates:
CONTACT INFORMATION
Feel free to email Ted Deppe at teddeppe@hotmail.com or call him or Annie at 011-353-87-909-1724 if you have questions. This sounds like it should be a great chance to give your writing a boost and to have a lot of fun at the same time. Please pass the word on to any friends you have who are serious about writing and would like to see Ireland!
ABOUT THE DEPPES
Ted Deppe is the author of Children of the Air and The Wanderer King (Alice James Books, 1990 and 1996) and Cape Clear: New and Selected Poems (Salmon, Ireland, 2002). His fourth book Orpheus on the Red Line is due out from Tupelo in Spring 2009. A recipient of two grants from the NEA and a Pushcart Prize, he has been writer in residence at the James Merrill House in Stonington, CT and Phillips Academy in Andover. He has taught in graduate programs in Maine, Ireland, and England and currently is the director of Stonecoast in Ireland, a program that makes it possible for MFA students at Stonecoast (Maine) to take their residencies in Ireland.
Annie Deppe is the author of Sitting in the Sky (Summer Palace Press, Ireland, 2003). She is the recipient of a writer's grant from the Irish Arts Council. Her work appeared in The Forward Book of Poetry 2004 and in journals on both sides of the Atlantic, including Poetry Ireland Review, Sou'wester, The Recorder, and The Shop. She holds an MFA from Lancaster University, England, and was chosen to read in the Introductions Series of Poetry Ireland. She and Ted are currently living in Donegal, Ireland.