Writing On The Mirror - A Creative Writing Practice Day

Novelist Pico Iyer writes that “the very act of…getting [words] out of the beehive of the head and onto the objective reality of paper…is a form of clarification.”

On this day retreat, we’ll explore creative writing as a practice of attention, discovery and reflection, and its relationship with Buddhist practice.

Through a series of practical exercises, we’ll explore how putting words on the page can help us see and experience things in new ways.

One of the forms we’ll explore is haiku — a poetic tradition strongly influenced by Buddhist practice. Short, vivid and deceptively simple, haiku invite us to pay close attention to the world immediately around us.

We’ll read a selection of traditional and contemporary haiku, before trying our hand at writing some of our own.

No previous writing experience is necessary — just bring your curiosity.

Subhadassi was ordained into the Triratna Buddhist Order in 1992 and is an experienced teacher and retreat leader.