Fred Johnston Creative Writing Workshops, Galway

galway | arts and media | event notice Thursday August 30, 2007 17:21 by Western Writers' Centre, Galway westernwriters at eircom dot net 34 Nuns Island, Galway 091.533594

Creative Writing Workshops at NUI galway

Writer and critic Fred Johnston starts his popular Creative Writing Workshops at NUI Galway as part of the Continuing Education Programme.

Starting on October 11th, writer and critic Fred Johnston, whose novel, 'The Neon Rose,' has just been published, kicks off his popular Creative Writing Course, covering all aspects of poetry and prose, from drafting, planning, developing and publishing. He will concentrate also on writing, and the various styles and manners of poetry - what, after all, is 'Scots Habbie?'; what constitutes a poem? Why is a poem different from prose? How? How does one begin to write a story? What is NOT poetry? The uses of poetry. The uses and abuses of prose. His own new collection, 'The Oracle Room,' will be launched in Dublin on October 4th.

Born in Belfast in 1951, Fred Johnston early on received a Hennessy Literature Award, back in 1972, when the judges were the late V.S. Pritchett and James Plunkett. A journalist for some years, he was also a reviewer with various publications, including Harpers & Queen, The Irish Times, and others. He will shortly be reviewing for the Sunday Business Post, and for Vallum (Canada). In 2004 he was writer-in-residence to the Princess Grace Irish Library at Monaco. A translator, he received a Prix de l'Ambassade in 2000.

Details of the new course can be obtained from the University, or from Nuala McGuinn at nuala.mcguinn@nuigalway.ie

Fred Johnston is the founder of Galway's annual literature festival, Cúirt, and manages the Western Writers' Centre (www.twwc.ie)