SAN FRANCISCO and GEYSERVILLE, Calif., Jan. 10, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- San Francisco's Ripe Fruit School of Creative Writing will hold its tenth annual Soul Food Memoir Writing Winter Retreat, Feb. 9-11, 2007, at the Isis Oasis Sanctuary in Geyserville.
Ripe Fruit Director Leslie Kirk Campbell invites writers to spend a soulful weekend of writing and improvisation in Sonoma wine country. "We can all achieve brilliant moments of writing if properly guided in a safe environment." Ripe Fruit has been doing just that for 15 years.
The Ripe Fruit Winter Retreat uses a variety of provocative techniques to "stir the pot" of memory and imagination, says Campbell. "We will gather around a blazing fire, beside an ancient tree and in a warm Sonoma kitchen, to conjure up our own personal ethnic roots.
"When you cook a roast, you want to seal in the juices. Here our goal is the opposite: we unseal these 'juices' to inform our writing."
In addition to visualization exercises and 'right-brain' work, Ripe Fruit uses improvisational body movement to help 'unpack' long-forgotten images.
"As we share our personal 'soul foods' with a 'family' of writers," explains Campbell, "these culinary and other experiences help us re-enter the landscapes of our memories, uncover stories that need telling, and shape these into unforgettable tales."
The Soul Food Retreat runs from 6 pm Friday until 2 pm Sunday. Fees range from $385 to $455 and include lodging, all meals and workshops, and full use of Isis amenities. Transportation and special diets and lodging arrangements are available; massage also available. Space is limited, so please call 415-337-4369 or register online as soon as possible.
About Ripe Fruit
Founded by imagination activist Leslie Kirk Campbell, Ripe Fruit has been inspiring creativity in writers of all levels since 1991 at its "greenhouse for the imagination." A highly praised teacher and "magical guide," Campbell has guided thousands of students around the world to find their own voice. A published poet, playwright, fiction and nonfiction writer, she is the author of Journey Into Motherhood: Writing Your Way to Self-Discovery. After earning degrees from Stanford and San Francisco State Universities, she translated Italian poetry and taught at the University of Firenze in Florence, and later at San Francisco State. She continues to teach writing workshops in Honolulu.
About Isis Oasis
The Isis Oasis Sanctuary provides refuge for endangered ocelots and exotic birds, and gives humans a place to nurture body, mind and spirit. Built on sacred Pomo Indian ground, the 10-acre Geyserville resort offers a number of amenities from a pool and hot tub to an Egyptian Temple. Located 75 miles north of San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge off Highway 101, it is near restaurants, wineries, the Russian River and Lake Sonoma.
On the Net: Ripe Fruit site: http://www.ripefruitwriting.com Isis Oasis site: http://www.isisoasis.org