Thursday, 27 May 2010
Full Moon
Marte Kjoell, a Raqs Sharqi dancer from Norway, has come to stay at ARC for an indefinite amount of time! She arrived yesterday and we had about one hour before I had to leave for writing class but then I brought us tameya and fuul sandwiches home when I got back :-)) She has an audition tonight for a dance spot on a well known boat here and she is in a flurry of mascara and fabrics getting ready for it. Monday night Seni Seneviratne will arrive and Amira Hanafi and her friend Elizabeth; a house of poets and dance!
Sunday, 23 May 2010
Gigs!!!
Soooooo... hello hello hello :-)) Well it is all go in Cairo, as ever. I am now running 5 writing courses a week as well as private students and working towards a project to facilitate Egyptian women fusing text with image. Apart from this life continues to dance (see my personal ARC blog page via the link opposite and I have two more gigs coming up on 3rd and 4th June.
The writer Seni Seneviratne is coming to stay from 31st May and at the same time Amira Hanafi is returning for a few weeks along with a poet friend of hers; so we will be a house of poets! I organised a reading for Seni and then decided to get some other poets involved and myself and then managed to get 2 gigs;
Poetry Reading by:
- Seni Seneviratne (Sri Lanka - England)
- Linda Cleary (England)
- Amira Hanafi (Egypt-USA)
- Marwa Abu Daif (Egypt)
- Mohamed Salem Obada (Egypt)
3rd June at Diwan Heliopolis 7pm
www.diwanegypt.com
4th June at Darb 1718 Fustat Old Cairo 7pm
www.darb1718.com
The writer Seni Seneviratne is coming to stay from 31st May and at the same time Amira Hanafi is returning for a few weeks along with a poet friend of hers; so we will be a house of poets! I organised a reading for Seni and then decided to get some other poets involved and myself and then managed to get 2 gigs;
Poetry Reading by:
- Seni Seneviratne (Sri Lanka - England)
- Linda Cleary (England)
- Amira Hanafi (Egypt-USA)
- Marwa Abu Daif (Egypt)
- Mohamed Salem Obada (Egypt)
3rd June at Diwan Heliopolis 7pm
www.diwanegypt.com
4th June at Darb 1718 Fustat Old Cairo 7pm
www.darb1718.com
Wednesday, 12 May 2010
Teenage Writing Class at Diwan
Teenage Creative Writing Course
For 12 – 16 years
By Linda Cleary
Start Date: 23/05/2010 6.30 pm
4 weeks (8 hour course)
One session per week (2 hour session) on Sundays
Time: 6.30 pm-8.30pm
In Diwan Maadi
Maximum 9 people per class
Price: 420 L.E
Please register in your nearest Diwan branch
The 4 week Creative Writing course will act as an extended masterclass looking at various techniques and exercises to open up and improve writing skills, work with metaphor and imagery, create texts and narratives to given themes and word counts, as well as free writing.
There is no criteria other than a willingness to open up one's writing; the course is designed that people of varying writing experience can participate and each draw their individual benefits.
For 12 – 16 years
By Linda Cleary
Start Date: 23/05/2010 6.30 pm
4 weeks (8 hour course)
One session per week (2 hour session) on Sundays
Time: 6.30 pm-8.30pm
In Diwan Maadi
Maximum 9 people per class
Price: 420 L.E
Please register in your nearest Diwan branch
The 4 week Creative Writing course will act as an extended masterclass looking at various techniques and exercises to open up and improve writing skills, work with metaphor and imagery, create texts and narratives to given themes and word counts, as well as free writing.
There is no criteria other than a willingness to open up one's writing; the course is designed that people of varying writing experience can participate and each draw their individual benefits.
Sunday, 9 May 2010
Temple of the Heart
Last night I went to Sama'Khana next to Prince Taz Palace in the Citadel area and saw the wonderful Iva Bittova, who is a renowned singer from Czech Republic who works with a lot of gypsy and world songs; and Anwar Abudragh a singer and musician from Iraq presenting classical Arabic and Sufi music. It was totally amazing. I felt like I was in a healing temple of sound; there were times I wanted to cry, times I wanted I was smiling from deep within, times I wished to crawl on the ground and writhe and times of bliss and divinity. The venue itself was beautiful;practically all wood with carved Arabic design and in a round with balconies. I was stunned that anyone managed to find the place though as it was tucked away down a small, historic street but then this is Cairo and when one is lost one becomes found.
There are performances on throughout the next week; all part of the Spring Festival 2010 including the poet Benjamin Zephaniah and many other international performers.
I begin another new writing class tomorrow; it will be weekly at Diwan for one month and then I start a second class at Darb 1718 as demand was high for the 1st one. I also hope to start my copy editing work for a new publication and not forgetting my post as 'writers' recruiter' for The New Hermopolis situated in Middle Egypt.
The family have been here for one week and will stay until 16th and I then hope to be accommodating a film crew who will be making a piece on The City of the Dead; an area here where people live in tombs. The poet and writer Seni Seneviratne will come end of May and Amira Hanafi will be also staying (she liked it so much the 1st time) :-) with a poet friend of hers. I am organising a reading to hopefully take place at Darb 1718 in early June and this will be Seni, Amira, myself and also Mohamed Salem Obada and Marwa Abu Diaf who will be reading in Arabic.
Soooooo... it's all go!!!! :-)
There are performances on throughout the next week; all part of the Spring Festival 2010 including the poet Benjamin Zephaniah and many other international performers.
I begin another new writing class tomorrow; it will be weekly at Diwan for one month and then I start a second class at Darb 1718 as demand was high for the 1st one. I also hope to start my copy editing work for a new publication and not forgetting my post as 'writers' recruiter' for The New Hermopolis situated in Middle Egypt.
The family have been here for one week and will stay until 16th and I then hope to be accommodating a film crew who will be making a piece on The City of the Dead; an area here where people live in tombs. The poet and writer Seni Seneviratne will come end of May and Amira Hanafi will be also staying (she liked it so much the 1st time) :-) with a poet friend of hers. I am organising a reading to hopefully take place at Darb 1718 in early June and this will be Seni, Amira, myself and also Mohamed Salem Obada and Marwa Abu Diaf who will be reading in Arabic.
Soooooo... it's all go!!!! :-)
Tuesday, 4 May 2010
DIWAN Creative Writing Course
Please see www.diwanegypt.com and read on for details of my 4 week (12 hour) Creative Writing course beginning Monday 7pm May 10th at Diwan, Maadi.
Registration is through Diwan and must be done before the course start date with payment in advance at any of Diwan's branches (Zamalek, Heliopolis, Maadi.
Diwan's website calander of events: http://www.diwanegypt.com/en/node/88004.
There is maximum student space of 15 people. Cost 420 LE for entire course.
Creative Writing Course at Diwan Bookstore, Maadi.
One 3 hr session a week for 4 weeks (12 hr course). Maximum 15 people per class.
The 4 week Creative Writing course will act as an extended masterclass looking at various techniques and exercises to open up and improve writing skills, work with metaphor and imagery, create texts and narratives to given themes and word counts as well as free writing.
There is no criteria other than a willingness to open up one's writing; the course is designed that people of varying writing experience can participate and each draw their individual benefits.
On completion of the first course other short courses available in:
Writing a Short Story
We work with further expansion techniques, read published short stories for discussion and understanding format; focusing on the necessary elements to produce a final draft of a 1000 word narrative.
Monologue and short plays in various formats
We look at the format of writing monologue and plays for stage, screen and radio and how to capture a character's authentic voice, find the central message of the text and prepare it for presentation.
Presentation of written word
For bringing developed pieces of text to peformance level; working on voice, rhythm, projection, stance and movement, character, direction, subsequent re-writes and edits from further developing the pieces.
Work on review and critique
Looking at the process of reading work for review and critique; getting past our own opinions to be able to appreciate what is valuable. We read several published texts for discussion and written comment and explore the steps to be able to review and critique work. Participants can also apply this to their own work.
Poetry
Reading the work of known poets; from a plethora of ages and movements. We discuss content and form and work on writing poetry that emulates certain styles as well as looking at one's own poetic expression and the form, rhythm and imagery that it takes.
Linda Cleary – Artist Biography
Linda Cleary is a poet - writer – performer, originally from Manchester and now living in Cairo. Seen as being in the vanguard of young female performance poets and emerging as a radical nouvelle vague Romantic Poet. Her former drama training lends her performance a certain theatricality and she has performed in a variety of bands, theatre & performance groups.
Linda works across disciplines; creating non traditional, diverse work of spoken & written word at times fusing performance, music and image. Her work often carries an urban and contemporary thrust ; some themes may be timeless, universal, but carry a modern twist and juxtaposition in delivering the tale whilst carrying a definite honouring to classic influences.
Her performance poetry and style has been seen as unique, strong, raw and challenging; 'Powerful, uncompromising, rhythmic verse. Tough, lyrical beauty. Packs poetic punches with aching sensitivity. A unique new voice. If you need a comparison, think; a young Joolz Denby, laced with Patti Smith overtones.' (Apples&Snakes)
Education Biography
Linda has experience of working with children, young adults and adults with differing needs and delivers workshops in creative writing & poetry for schools, colleges and community groups; those from isolated or rural areas as well as regeneration or urban.
Having left school and becoming immediately involved with theatre her community work began with a placement with NACRO in '89 where she assisted with facilitating a creative writing and psycho-drama course. She then went on to train in '91 at Manchester Polytechnic in Recreational Arts in the Community. This enabled her to successfully set up and run a variety of community courses in creative writing and also theatre; working in Holland, Czech and Australia as well as the UK. Between 93 – 94 she was invited to Czech Republic to work at the prestigious JAMU Academy of Performing Arts & Music in Brno where she delivered theatre workshops to two adult actor groups; one an audibly impaired group. She runs creative writing courses and a script development for presentation course and teaches general literacy as well as her poetry, writing and performance work and has just set up an artists' residency in Cairo.
Registration is through Diwan and must be done before the course start date with payment in advance at any of Diwan's branches (Zamalek, Heliopolis, Maadi.
Diwan's website calander of events: http://www.diwanegypt.com/en/node/88004.
There is maximum student space of 15 people. Cost 420 LE for entire course.
Creative Writing Course at Diwan Bookstore, Maadi.
One 3 hr session a week for 4 weeks (12 hr course). Maximum 15 people per class.
The 4 week Creative Writing course will act as an extended masterclass looking at various techniques and exercises to open up and improve writing skills, work with metaphor and imagery, create texts and narratives to given themes and word counts as well as free writing.
There is no criteria other than a willingness to open up one's writing; the course is designed that people of varying writing experience can participate and each draw their individual benefits.
On completion of the first course other short courses available in:
Writing a Short Story
We work with further expansion techniques, read published short stories for discussion and understanding format; focusing on the necessary elements to produce a final draft of a 1000 word narrative.
Monologue and short plays in various formats
We look at the format of writing monologue and plays for stage, screen and radio and how to capture a character's authentic voice, find the central message of the text and prepare it for presentation.
Presentation of written word
For bringing developed pieces of text to peformance level; working on voice, rhythm, projection, stance and movement, character, direction, subsequent re-writes and edits from further developing the pieces.
Work on review and critique
Looking at the process of reading work for review and critique; getting past our own opinions to be able to appreciate what is valuable. We read several published texts for discussion and written comment and explore the steps to be able to review and critique work. Participants can also apply this to their own work.
Poetry
Reading the work of known poets; from a plethora of ages and movements. We discuss content and form and work on writing poetry that emulates certain styles as well as looking at one's own poetic expression and the form, rhythm and imagery that it takes.
Linda Cleary – Artist Biography
Linda Cleary is a poet - writer – performer, originally from Manchester and now living in Cairo. Seen as being in the vanguard of young female performance poets and emerging as a radical nouvelle vague Romantic Poet. Her former drama training lends her performance a certain theatricality and she has performed in a variety of bands, theatre & performance groups.
Linda works across disciplines; creating non traditional, diverse work of spoken & written word at times fusing performance, music and image. Her work often carries an urban and contemporary thrust ; some themes may be timeless, universal, but carry a modern twist and juxtaposition in delivering the tale whilst carrying a definite honouring to classic influences.
Her performance poetry and style has been seen as unique, strong, raw and challenging; 'Powerful, uncompromising, rhythmic verse. Tough, lyrical beauty. Packs poetic punches with aching sensitivity. A unique new voice. If you need a comparison, think; a young Joolz Denby, laced with Patti Smith overtones.' (Apples&Snakes)
Education Biography
Linda has experience of working with children, young adults and adults with differing needs and delivers workshops in creative writing & poetry for schools, colleges and community groups; those from isolated or rural areas as well as regeneration or urban.
Having left school and becoming immediately involved with theatre her community work began with a placement with NACRO in '89 where she assisted with facilitating a creative writing and psycho-drama course. She then went on to train in '91 at Manchester Polytechnic in Recreational Arts in the Community. This enabled her to successfully set up and run a variety of community courses in creative writing and also theatre; working in Holland, Czech and Australia as well as the UK. Between 93 – 94 she was invited to Czech Republic to work at the prestigious JAMU Academy of Performing Arts & Music in Brno where she delivered theatre workshops to two adult actor groups; one an audibly impaired group. She runs creative writing courses and a script development for presentation course and teaches general literacy as well as her poetry, writing and performance work and has just set up an artists' residency in Cairo.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
