Kenneth C. Steven,
writer, poet

 

 

Courses

Writers’ groups

I’ve been visiting writers’ groups in different parts of the country for many years now; I’ve also acted as tutor for a time. Every visit is different; there are readings (from my poetry and / or prose) or talks on various aspects of writing. (I was commissioned to compile two handbooks on the writing and publishing of poetry respectively by Writers’ Bookshop some years back – both titles are still available through the library system). I’ve judged club competitions (providing feedback on submitted entries) and undertaken workshops on the crafting of new work. Generally I’m not keen to get people to write there and then within a group context – space and quiet are to be afforded more favourably elsewhere.

 

Day courses

I’ve run open events for would-be writers, or masterclasses for poets, picture book authors and writers of prose. These are held in arts centres, churches, hotels, castles or prisons – it depends on the locality and on the facilities’ provisions. Whenever possible I like to use the great outdoors, even if it’s just to walk together after lunch by a river or huddle under an oak in the rain. Genrally day courses are composed of two sessions, one mornbing and one afternoon, each lasting a maximum of two hours. But every course is different and there should be no sense of one size fits all; it’s a case of discussing beforehand what is going to be of greatest benefit.

 

Longer courses

For half a dozen years now, I’ve co-tutored the Into Blue Silence spring writing retreat on the Isle of Iona in the Hebrides with Roselle Angwin. This April week is designed to be different to the plethora of courses offering intensive creative writing tuition; here the emphasis is on the marriage between the inner and outer environments (we spend a good deal of our time walking and exploring the island in the afternoons) as well as writing intensively each morning. These morning sessions are spent exploring some aspect of the creative process, but the course is as much designed to be about personal reflection and the inner journey as it is about the craft of writing. I’ve built on this model when running a course of similar duration at Castle of Park in Aberdeenshire; it’s something I very much intend taking elsewhere.