Dreams & Writing Course in Bahareya - it was AMAZING!!!

I am just back from the fabulous residential writing course I just ran in Bahareya, Egypt. 

 It was an amazing experience for us all; such sheer beauty and tranquility in the deserts and oases; so many riches available for one's writing.

I can't wait to do the next one and will start planning soon!

Huge thanks to the great work from Cresco - Dalia Abou Senna & Claes Raben who organised the travel, tours, accommodation and bliss and the wonderful, beautiful people who came along on the course: Mehra Magd, Hanaa Hammad, Mona Yassin, Hanna Sistek, Mohammed Yahia, Mirette Baghat, Nora Tee, Ola El Ababby, Mina Sonbol, Myriam Rizkillah. 

You can view the whole set of photos here: 
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151645133205337.1073741830.781050336&type=1&l=69d7266609

and you can read about what the course comprised of from an old post here: http://www.writerscentre.blogspot.com/2013/04/a-few-places-still-left-on-bahareya.html

All Still Happening! :))

Dear World

Well, there are SO many things happening it is as ever hard to find the time to update the blogs properly; and yes blogs as in plural as there is a lot going on now with the Writers' Centre as you can read on the blog: www.writerscentre.blogspot.com  and also do keep a check on the Arts Residency main page: http://www.artsresidencycairo.blogspot.com/

I am still looking for a writers' residency for myself for summer; for either June/July or July/August.  So far I have looked at several places in Berlin and how I wish there was somewhere in Paris!!!!  So, if any of you lovely people know of a residency that you think would accept for me to stay in return for me running some courses or helping in some way then please do let me know!!! Or if you know of a residency that is affordable let me know too, as leaving Cairo and living outside of Egypt for a while is a bit of a shock monetarily!  ;))

Spring always feels such a hopeful time and I am looking forward to all the flowers of creativity that are opening their colours :))

Bisou for now!  Linda

Audio Tracks of Cairo and Glass - Recorded Live at Radio Lewa, Cairo

I am REALLY excited to share two of my new tracks working with Kemoslang Mohamed Kamal.  These were recorded live at Radio Lewa last week. I hope you enjoy!

My homage to Cairo https://soundcloud.com/lindacleary/cairo-the-definitive-version

Audio version of poem Glass (You Did Not Kill Me)
 https://soundcloud.com/lindacleary/glass-you-did-not-kill-me-live

*see within the poetry section of my blog www.lindaclearypoetry.blogspot.com under Cairo and Glass for the poems to both pieces 

Paris, Rome, Berlin and Elsewhere!

Dear Community, I want to build some contacts in Paris, Berlin and Rome (though could be other places too!).

I am thinking to go to another country next year and it would be great to meet up with other writers (and other artist mediums) and venues.

I would like to deliver Creative Writing workshops (in English) and work with a venue where I can also develop and host various literary initiatives, salons, writing surgeries, events, readings, shows, happenings etc, the kind of thing I am doing here.

Any contacts are greatly appreciated ;)) Please comment here or email me on: lindawildfire@hotmail.com

Thanks and please pass this blog www.artsresidencycairo.blogspot.com and also: www.writerscentre.blogspot.com to anyone who you think might be helpful or interested!

and then it was November!

Oh my on my!  I last posted here in August?!  Wow!  More bubbles of time blown by!

Well over on the ARC home page www.artsresidencycairo.blogspot.com you can of course keep up to date with course and residents much more but somehow I must have come to forget the more personal diary part here - or to be more accurate been as ever so busy and writing so many varied things that this page got neglected.  Poor page!  ;)

Well things are changing, things have changed.  Yes, all remains with a strong schedule of courses, workshops and events and residents staying at ARC but the country is in a mess, as most of you will know, and life here feels more overwhelming sometimes. Two of the big issues are that I miss nature and civil liberties.  Nature I might miss in any big city, though in many cities they have cultivated parks and areas one can go to - in Cairo there are a few small parks which due to the lack of civil liberties one cannot enjoy anyway, ie as a woman it is not easy or comfortable to go for a 'walk' and take a stroll in the park.  In fact this would never happen.  Other than no park sitting, I am also tired of the general street hassle, although I myself have not been badly harassed it is is just the fact that the street is 'owned' by the street people who are mainly men and walking leaves one open to constant remarks, and I mean constant.  Even if the men think they are being 'flattering' it is still an invasion into one's walk.  As well as this my beau broke up with me very recently and so now I find myself in a period of re-evaluation about what I want to do here and how long I want to stay.  So... (!).. the ideas I have right now are to stay for some time more (as I am involved with so many good things and have courses scheduled etc etc) but I am now putting out my feelers for contacts in Paris, Rome and Berlin with the idea to either take some months away from Cairo and then return or to move. *I will be posting another post above this one with that Paris, Berlin, Rome idea explained more.

For now let me tell you about how Lia is on her last day here in Cairo and what a lovely resident she has been!  Although, I have hardly seen her as she has been so busy with the W Ü S T E N project with her colleagues Nela Adams, Marcel Saegesser and Anna Schoels.  Lia's work was to video document and take photographs of the project and these will be uploaded soon to the W Ü S T E N page: https://www.facebook.com/wuestenproject

Here are just some snaps from their work:

  in the White Desert

 Saleh Mohamed Mohamed in the performance at Darb 1718

some of the audience at the performance at Darb 1718

Nature Needed!

Hello World!

How are you? Are you OK? It all seems a bit crazy these days doesn't it.. with all these people fighting all the time, destroying each other and the land, doing all kinds of lunatic stuff and so little compassion. Ah well, we can only continue with our little worlds, doing the best we can, keeping creativity and life as our light.

And so.. we are very pleased to say that there is still life at ARC and in fact after a slow Ramadan start where it felt as if all activity had ceased the ball is now very firmly rolling! There are many Creative Writing courses being rolled out over the next months (see all adverts as they get posted over on the main ARC page) and the Dutch writer Saskia Konniger www.saskiakonniger.nl will be coming for a week's residence at the beginning of October, as she is currently writing her new book and needs some space and an environment to do so.

There are other enquiries also and once they are confirmed I will post details of other visiting artists.

Meanwhile we have 6 days left of Ramadan and then we will have the crazy Eid for 3 days and then ahhhhhhh we can all get back to 'normal' - whatever normal is in this city!

I have been feeling incredibly in need of NATURE!!! And I now feel that I need to spend time in Penzance again perhaps a couple of times per year, I need a fix of wildflowers, cliffs, the sea!!!! So, I will try to work out how to get that together, maybe organising some workshops for during my stay in Cornwall to pay for the expenses of the trip.

My beau and I are planning to get away for some days next week, to El Gouna. I had (and still do want) wanted to go to Nuweiba but with all the stuff going on in Sinai it's not overly advisable right now :/ and El Gouna looks beautiful and is by the Red Sea.

Anyway, I have to edit, then eat something (as I dont observe Ramadan myself, not being Muslim or religious in any way) and then get to my Pilates class!!!

Bye bye for now!!!!

Keep posted! :)))

Home!

So...

I just got back from 12 days in UK; my first visit since moving here to Cairo two and a half years ago and I am happy to be home - as in back home in Cairo.

Some of my biggest impressions on the trip back to England were how quiet even Manchester was (!) - comnpared to Cairo which is one of the noisiest cities in the world other places seem positively tranquil! Also the lack of colour, the cold (!), the expense (!!!), how people are preoccupied with worries over how to pay high living costs and bills, a sense of suppression seemed present or rather dormancy; I felt that most people 'had' things but were poor in a sense of consciousness. This is not to say that people in Cairo are high on life.. but there is a sense of life everywhere - even if it is difficult.

After Manchester I then visited Penwith in Cornwall, which was my home for 12 years before moving here. Penwith is as beautiful as ever and still possesses that gentle strength which supports people who live there - but my stay there was not relaxing as I saw THIRTY TWO people in 5 days and still had more to go who I couldn't fit in!!!

Travelling back to Cairo I was lucky to be on the flight with one of my great friends here Amira, a fine writer and journalist. We finally managed to catch up (we have both been so busy recently)albeit through some severe turbulence and both arrived safely to our beloved but insane city - Cairo!

Watch out for updates of all new news and dont forget to check the main page Arts Residency Cairo also!