“We sit together, the mountain and I, until only the mountain remains.” — Li Bai
About
Find your writing space in the mountains with the inaugural Spittoon Poetry Retreat: two days of guided workshops, readings, and writing time in the beautiful mountains surrounding Beijing.
Who can participate?
Anyone interested in developing his or her creative writing craft.
How to sign up
Please send an email with the subject heading “Retreat” and a note telling us your name and what excites you most about the retreat to info@spittooncollective.com.
Sign-Ups close on September 7. Spots are limited and we will accept people on a first come first serve basis. We will confirm your attendance by September 10.
Workshops
Queer Poetics: Poetry and Sexuality
Simon Shieh is a poet and the Director of InkBeat Arts, an organization that empowers young people through artistic expression. He is also the Editor in Chief of the Spittoon Literary Magazine and served as the Writer in Residence at the International School of Beijing from 2017-18. Simon won second place in Public Poetry’s 2018 contest. His work can be read in Grist, Kartika Review, Calamity, Softblow, and Anomaly Literary Journal, among others.
Writing from the Body: A Sensory Experience of Writing
Lethokuhle Msimang is a South African poet and writer, born in Durban KwaZulu-Natal. Graduated with a B.A. in Literary Studies and Creative Arts at the American University of Paris, her poems have appeared in New Coin Poetry (Rhodes University, South Africa), Hanging Loose and The Paris/Atlantic. She is the founder of the South African Oral History Project, presently focused on the documentation of the Delville Wood Memorial and the role of South African Native Labour Corps. She is currently completing a book of linked short stories Tales of the Orange Time of Day.
Poetry is Rock & Roll: The Art of Hitting Hard (with Words)
Matthew Byrne is a British poet who was awarded his Creative Writing MA from Manchester Metropolitan University in 2009. He was active in the poetry scene in Manchester, founding the Unsung Collective and the Unsung Magazine – culminating in the successful creative writing festival, UnsungFest, in the summer of 2012. He moved to Beijing in 2013 and founded the Spittoon Collective and Literary Magazine in 2016 in which he operates as Director.
Slam Poetry in 2018: Articulating a Moment
Jumi Bello grew up in Washington DC and went to her first spoken word event at 13 in Oakland. Since the, she has organized open mics and published two poetry chapbooks, I Luv Woman Girl Machine and Beware Of Dogs. Jumi has performed in venues in DC and Chicago, now performing in Beijing. When she’s not performing, she is teaching history or telling you a story about the ocean.
Details
When:
September 22-24, 2018 (Mid-Autumn Festival Holiday)
Where:
Great Wall Fresh (Yanqing, Beijing)
Great Wall Fresh is a restaurant, guest house and Chinese country home in Chenjiapu, a peaceful village beside a ramshackle stretch of the Great Wall.
(For more info, see their website at http://www.greatwallfresh.com)
Cost:
600RMB per person (includes food, accommodation, and transportation to and from Great Wall Fresh)