WHEN: July 26^th to 28^th, 2013

WHERE: Main & Station, 168 Main Street, Parrsboro, NS

INSTRUCTOR:  Ian Ferrier, http://ianferrier.com/

Life is a fluid. It goes by so fast it’s hard to imagine catching it all. The Tibetans see it as a rushing stream, over in an instant.

We’d all like to attain a deeper understanding of the value and sense of what we’ve lived. So how do we catch that stream? Writing the story of our lives can be a daunting quest. Where do we start and how do we present it? Which bits do we choose to talk about and which fall by the wayside? And who is our audience? Is writing our lives a process we enter for ourselves, for family and friends, or for humanity in general?

Ian Ferrier is a Montreal poet and prose writer who has thought a lot about these topics, from his early life writing in journals to what he does now which is to transform and present bits of what he’s lived in public performances across the country.

He sees writing as the way to engage life, and explore the deepest questions that occur to us, find out what they mean, and take us deep into the very personal mysteries of our existence. Why is it a particular film sticks in our minds? What is it about a teenage encounter or a phrase someone used that haunts us for years afterwards?

And what about the romance in our lives? Was that an accidental encounter or was it fate? How can we untangle the threads of relationships that changed our lives?

And let’s not forget the wry side to our ever-so-serious existence? How do we express the humour and joy we’ve found in the course of our wanderings through life?

This workshop will use a very open mind to explore all of these topics, looking to help each participant choose the best way to bring writing into his or her life—from journals to offhand storytelling to serious works of poetry or prose. It is open to anyone who wants to engage writing as a tool for discovering the meaning and excitement in life.