Friday 1 October 2010

Bliss in the Oasis

The 1st three day residential creative writing course in the Fayoum oasis last weekend was amazing! What beautiful serendipity that 11 people could come together and harmonise in such a wonderful way and produce great work too.

The daily workshops were focused and intensive, the social 'chill out' times were inspiring, easy and fun, the food was great (!), the location was perfect and the nights were trimmed with readings of work and sharing stories.

Thank you Mostafa, Zeinab, Nawara, Nariman, Amany, Amira, Passant, Dalia, Nick and Ismail; I got a lot of love for you guys! :-))

Testimonials here:

The course was truly an amazing experience for me and as brief as it was, was an eye opener for me in reference to things I should work on and in terms of trying to explore my potential and stretch my writing, versus, sticking to doing what I have always done.
The workshop, has also helped me identify my strengths as a writer, which I have come to conclude lies is in my ideas, and not in the eloquence of my writing. Having said that, I still will work on my writing, to make it more “powerful” with creativity and possibly by utilizing more subtle forms of expression.
Amany Eid


It's been an unforgettable experience, one that I will constantly look back on and smile.
Passant Rabie

I'm truly grateful to have attended this creative retreat with such a genuine group of people. I would do this again anytime without a moment's hesitation.

There are two complementary sides to Linda's creative writing course, each of which is reason enough to take the course over and over again. The first is that it opens up your writing in the way that it needs; if you often get blocked then you will learn to inspire inspiration, and if you often use the same clichés then you will learn to construct new forms of vivid and poetic images. The second side is the profound human experience that the course offers; the mere meeting of aspiring souls with common interest who share and interact and find refuge in their collective understanding is empowering, to say the least. Thank you Linda!

Mostafa Hashish


I signed up for this course not knowing what to expect. At most I was hoping to learn a couple of techniques that I could maybe use and,like the shy student I always was in class, hoped that I wouldn't be called on too much to read. Of course it turned out to be so much more -- a truly profound experience on all fronts. Eye-opening, inspiring,constructive, delicious, relaxing (a bit itchy at times)...and to share it with a group of people like all of you, it just couldn't have been more perfect.

Linda you are a truly inspiring and amazingly talented woman! Thank you for guiding us through this profound experience.

Amira Ahmed


Like everyone else, I'm still on a Fayoum high. It's funny how I'm having a hard time putting into words the way I felt about a writing course!

You should know that signing up for this course was completely out of character. Breaking my routine and spending a weekend away with 10, well 8, people I've never met is so unlike me. Little did I know that it would be the most amazing, inspiring experience and that I would grow so attached to the group. We are a very diverse group of people and to me that is what made us special.
I'm glad we were the first 10 students to go on this residential course and I don't know how anyone can follow that :)
Dalia Rabie

Maybe we don't know that much about each other, but we have reached a place, a sanctuary,  where we know we can always be, and where no one else will fit the bill, except us The Ghosts of Fayoum, in that island of creativity.

I came to the course as a suffocating petrified writer. My words were stifled, unwilling to be uttered. They evaded me, almost like they disapproved of me, and so were punishing me by not being there. With the first assignment they seemed to group together and decided to give me another chance.

As the minutes went by and the written pieces kept coming, my words have finally forgiven me I think, for letting them be stifled, and by my own hands.

On a more down to earth note, Linda, you have opened a new window in my form of expression. As a writer, I was more concerned with structure, plot and story-line. You opened the window onto a vast universe of words, forms and a new fusion thereof. You have set me free.

Zeinab Mubarak


It's so hard for me to express how I feel because I'm in a state of mind where if I really think about in depth about that amazing weekend I would be incapable to face the facts I'm dealing with now. It has left a huge impact on my life and perspective. Bless you.

Nawara Belal