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Writing Our Ancestral Stories : Shifting the past into new futures

Teacher: Dawn Garisch

Cost: 5 days accommodation + R350 surcharge

Dates: Tuesday 02 November 2021 - Sunday 07 November 2021

dawn garisch What story were you born into? What story will you pass on to future generations? We are all born into circumstances that are not of our choosing – historical, political, cultural, spiritual, geographical, mythological, genetic, epigenetic. This writing course is an invitation to explore what you have inherited from those who came before you, and how this affects your life, often in ways that are just below consciousness. We will investigate whether these attributes and attitudes are helpful or harmful to ourselves, others and the earth. We will also write our way into what attributes and attitudes we wish to pass down to future generations, and what we should rather examine and deal with ourselves in this life, so that we do not unwittingly pass old wounds and outmoded ideas on to those who come after us. Beginner writers are welcome.

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Dawn Garisch has had seven novels, two collections of poetry, a non-fiction work and a memoir published. Her short stories and poetry have appeared in anthologies, journals and magazines. She has had a short play and short film produced, and has written for television and newspapers. Three of her novels have been published in the UK. In 2007 her poem Blood Delta was awarded the DALRO prize. In 2010 Trespass was short-listed for the Commonwealth prize for fiction in Africa, and in 2011 her poem Miracle won the EU Sol Plaatjie Poetry Award. In 2013 her short story What To Do About Ricky won the NAF-funded Short.Sharp.Story competition. Her novel Accident was published by Modjaji in 2017 and her adaptations of her novels Accident and Trespass were staged. She published her latest book Breaking Milk in 2020. She is interested in trans-disciplinary work in science and art, and between different art forms and teaches life writing and creative method courses. She is a practising medical doctor and lives in Cape Town.