“If you are lucky enough to have gone to Paris as a LEFTBANK WRITERS RETREAT writer, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you…for the LEFTBANK WRITERS RETREAT is a moveable feast.” ~ Me
But okay…I borrowed a lot of those words from someone greater than myself. (-:
“If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.”~ Ernest Hemingway
I have just returned from the Left Bank and I am in love. But it is not just being immersed in Paris’s Left Bank that has made me feel this way. It is the enchanted way in which I got to see it that made it so special. If you are a writer, you really should check out the LEFTBANK WRITERS RETREAT. It is the best thing I have done for my writing life in years, possibly ever.
As an avid fan of Ernest Hemingway’s Paris–through reading and rereading his Moveable Feast–I wanted to see it through his filter. With the Leftbank Writers Retreat that is exactly what happened. Darla Worden, Sarah Suzor and Travis Cebula–the LBWR faculty–were extremely knowledgeable of all things Hemingway and Paris. But they didn’t only lead us through the streets of Hemingway’s Paris, pointing out all the incredible places frequented by Hemingway. They gave us everything they knew of Paris. Every day we went on a new adventure. We went to museums, we went to Shakespeare & Company, we ate at Hemingway’s favourite restaurants and other incredible pearls the faculty had discovered on their own numerous trips to Paris. We went to Montmartre, we took a boat cruise to the Tower Eiffel. Every day was magical. And the registrants did not have to worry about a single thing during our days together. The meals, museum tickets, and metro passes were included in the tuition. We merely followed our three leaders as they led us into a magical adventure every single day.
And we wrote every single day of the retreat. The faculty lead us in some fantastic writing exercises in such wondrous places as the Tuileries, the Luxemburg Gardens and the gardens of Notre Dame Cathedral.
From the moment I met Darla, Sarah and Travis, it was clear they LOVED what they were doing. They didn’t only love writing and Paris, they loved wrapping up the city they were so passionate about in a huge bow and gifting it to each and every one of the writers who registered for the retreat. They came alive when we came alive. And with our evenings free, we were off to explore Paris individually or together on our own terms. Again, the faculty were there to answer any and all questions we might have had before we set off on our journeys into the Paris evening.
I think I will let a few pictures speak for the magic I witnessed there…
If you do one thing for your writing life–just one thing ever–make sure it is to register for the LEFTBANK WRITERS RETREAT. You will not be disappointed! You will see Paris like you’ve never seen it before. And if you’ve never seen it before, you will see it in the best possible way! You will come away from your experience with a wealth of new writing and a passion to re-immerse yourself in your writing. And wherever you go for the rest of your life, you will take it with you…for the LEFTBANK WRITERS RETREAT is a moveable feast!
Contact Darla today to start a dialogue on the June 2015 retreat.
KEVIN CRAIG 