Tag Archives: writing

Solstice 26 ekphrasis writing workshop – bookings are now open

Posted on by
Reply

As part of the Solstice 26 exhibition, we are pleased to be offering a workshop delving into ekphrasis – the ancient poetic technique of writing about another work of art (painting, sculpture, etc).

The workshop will be at the Ballarat North Bowling Club, 402 Gregory Street, Soldiers Hill, from 10am to 2pm on Sunday 21 June 2026. The workshop is limted to 15 participants.

Melissa Watts will take writers on their own poetic journey as they learn the elements of ekphrasis, how to emotionally connect with an artwork of their choice and then write and edit at least one poem. Melissa will teach poets how to look deeper into both works to build emotional resonance, to consider tone, pace, point of view, setting, symbolism and a range of other poetic devices that will honour the original artwork but also generate a new poem. Participants will be provided with comprehensive handouts to allow them to continue their poetry journey after the class has concluded.

Melissa’s classes are always designed with three things in mind:

1 – that participants feel safe and supported to learn new skills and push creative boundaries regardless of where they are on their own creative journey

2 – that participants create new work or progress their current work-in-progress

3 – that participants leave feeling empowered.  

Tickets are $15 and are now available – please see the booking site for further details and T&Cs: https://events.humanitix.com/solstice-writing-workshop-ekphrasis-in-the-gallery

Tea and coffee will be available but attendees are advised to bring their own snacks/lunch as there are limited eateries in the vicinity. There is a microwave and fridge.

Queries can be directed to the feedback section of this website, wordsoutloudballarat@gmail.com, or the contact details at the booking page.

The Solstice 26 exhibition involves Central Highlands writers responding to artworks produced by Soldiers Hill Artist Collective, and is supported by a Creative Ballarat Creative Inspiration grant.

June edition – call-out for podcast edition

Posted on by
2

As COVID-19 continues to disrupt live entertainment and art, we are inviting submissions for our June podcast edition. You can listen to the April edition if you’d like to get a feel for it.

JUNE PODCAST EDITION

Our theme for the June podcast is ‘here comes the rain again’, but it is not compulsory — wordsmiths are invited to explore the theme or simply ignore it altogether. The deadline for submissions is 14 June.

As this is going to be a podcast uploaded to the Words Out Loud website, rather than a more ephemeral live event, we have a few guidelines that we would ask you to follow:

1. Please keep the recordings to 5 minutes or less. We’re not editing these, so if they are too long, they simply won’t be included.

2. You can record in any way you can as long as it produces an MP3 file to send via email (wolballarat AT gmail.com). Phone recordings are fine.

3. Please try to keep your material to a (somewhat permissive) PG rating. A bit of swearing here and there is fine, as are subtle adult themes. But if your work is likely to make a 12-year-old cry or wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, then maybe save it for when the live events resume. Editorial discretion will be applied in deciding whether to include pieces in the podcast.

4. You need to either read your own work, or else have permission in writing from the author to read their work (forwarded to us via email).

5. All submissions must be received no later than midnight, Sunday 14 June, 2020. We intend to make the podcast live on Thursday, 18 June, when Words Out Loud was scheduled to take to the stage.

And if you want to include a photo along with your recording, feel free. It can be of yourself, something related to your work, or just an image that reflects these strange news days and how you’re getting through them. We’d love to see what you’re doing with yourselves and might even put some of them up on the website to accompany the podcast. As with recordings, please make sure these are your own work.

PLEASE NOTE:

By submitting your audio file to wordsoutloudballarat@gmail.com, you are giving consent for the audio to be included in Words Out Loud: The Podcast and published, in full or in part, on the Words Out Loud Ballarat website and promoted on the WOL Facebook page. While all intellectual property rights related to the recording and its contents will remain with the author, you are agreeing to grant Words Out Loud non-exclusive publication rights to the audio recording itself. By submitting the audio file, you are affirming that the copyright of the contents is owned by yourself, or else have included written permission from the copyright holder.

If you submit an image file along with your audio, you are giving consent for the image to be published on the Words Out Loud Ballarat website and promoted on the WOL Facebook page – unless you specifically instruct otherwise. You are also affirming that the copyright of the image is owned by yourself. All intellectual property rights will remain with the image owner.

Keep in touch: at facebook.com/wordsoutloud or join our mailing list.