Lyrical Provence: A Creative Writing Workshop with Mark Ari
From the troubadours of the 11th and 12th centuries through Victor Hugo and Frederic Mistral to Colette and Hemingway, Provence has inspired nearly as many writers as painters. When Jean Giono depicts the serene beauty and mystery of the natural world, Provence is the subject of his enchanting prose. This is where F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote The Great Gatsby and Edith Wharton completed The Age of Innocence.
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Features & Info
Workshop Features:
• Double-occupancy accommodations at a Luxury Villa (single occupancy available with supplement)
• Airport transfers
• Internal transportation
• Excursions
• Provencal Market Tours
• French Breakfast
• 5 Dinners, prepared by Chef Frederick, at the Villa
• Provencal Sunday lunch
Mark Ari
Acclaimed “A true original,” by Kirkus Reviews, Mark Ari publishes fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. His novel, The Shoemaker’s Tale (Zephyr Press), earned high praise from Kirkus, the New York Times, The Jerusalem Post, Publisher’s Weekly, among others. Most recently, “Looking Back on Louis,” a personal essay on meeting Louis Armstrong was published in Prick of the Spindle; his flash fiction, “The King of Mulberry Street” was featured in Kiss the Sky (Paycock Press), an anthology of works about Jimi Hendrix; and his interview with the late Julian Beck, founder of The Living Theater, was incorporated into Paradise Now (Universal Mutant & Arthur Magazine), a DVD commemorating the troupe’s 50 years of vanguard theater.
Director & Chef Fred Brown
Frederick, a Florida-based chef, with more than 15 years experience, has honed his craft working in the United States and Europe. He has been creating unique workshop experiences for artists, students and food lovers for the last 5 years. Frederick has traveled extensively, lived and worked abroad. He taught cooking classes and worked in the production of food and wine events for Bon Appétit Magazine in cities across the USA. His broad knowledge of food, coupled with his culinary skills combine to create memorable dining experiences informed by the local culture. He believes in using regionally grown products and produce assuring the freshest of ingredients. Frederick will showcase his talents producing regionally influenced dinner fare to be enjoyed outdoors while being complimented by local wines and exceptional views of the Croatian countryside.
Additional Information
Workshop
Our workshop will take advantage of these remarkable surroundings to celebrate the five senses. You will be given exercises to tune your perceptiveness, divine the telling detail, and
provoke the resources of memory and imagination. In short scenes and lyrical prose pieces you will explore the sounds and structures that make your language most fully your own.
Students will receive individual instruction and present their efforts for group critique. At the end of the workshop, we will celebrate with a reading/performance!
The Luberon:
Located in the breadbasket of France, the Luberon region of the Rhone valley has a richness of agriculture and viniculture unparalleled to anywhere else in the world. The region is dotted with quaint 12th century medieval villages with side-walk cafes, cobblestone streets and charming shops.
We will be staying in the most picturesque and historic of all the Provence departments, it has magnificent views of vineyards, olive groves, lavender fields and ancient villages.
The surrounding towns of Avignon, Orange, Carpentras and Vaison la Romaine are steeped in rich history
ready for exploration. Close by are the perched villages of the Luberon and Côtes du Rhône.
All wine lovers will recognize the village names of Châteauneuf du Pape, Gigondas, Vacqueyras, Beaumes de Venise, Rasteau, and Cairanne. On the culinary front, Cavaillon, famous for its melons, is known as the fruit and vegetable garden of France. The Vaucluse is also France's top black truffle region. One thing is for sure, the residents of the Vaucluse know how to make wine and prepare amazing food!
