Disquiet in Lisbon: July 2012

While I won't be teaching in Lisbon this summer in the Disquiet International Literary Program, I hope to return in that capacity in Summer 2013. I highly recommend the program to any writer, but will let my former students, the director, below, and the website fill in the details for you. Don't miss the opportunity. In the meantime, follow my antics at www.poetlaureateblog.org where I wear a funny hat until April, 2013, at which time I return to poetry on a stick.

I highly recommend Sally Ashton's workshop experience. Ashton goes beyond providing a constructive and supportive critique environment by also sharing literary themes and supporting text that I found to be thought provoking and inspirational to my writing. Lara Gularte (Disquiet 2011)

In the Lisbon workshop with Sally Ashton, I received thoughtful and relevant critique on my poems. I appreciated Sally's sensibilities as a facilitator and close reader, as well as her impressive knowledge of craft and current trends in literature. The optional short reading and writing assignments she prepared for us tapped into the expanse of emotions we were experiencing as travelers out of our comfort zones and provided focal points for the phenomenal history and culture we found surrounding us.
-Marjorie Manwaring (Disquiet Program 2011)

And now, a word from the director:

The second annual DISQUIET: Dzanc Books International Literary Program in Lisbon, Portugal is now accepting applications and the contest and scholarship competitions are open!

2012 guest writers and faculty include: Junot Diaz, Denise Duhamel, John Frey, Robert Olmstead, Anthony De Sa, George Saunders, Richard Zenith, Kim Addonizio, Sally Ashton, Dan Bern, Deanne Fitzmaurice, Frank X. Gaspar, Philip Graham, Christine Hume, Joshua Knelman, Horacio Castellanos Moya, Josip Novakovich, Deb Olin Unferth, Terri Witek, Luísa Costa Gomes, valter hugo mãe, José Luís Peixoto, Jacinto Lucas Pires, Patrícia Reis, Gonçalo M. Tavares, Rui Zink, editors from Dzanc Books, Guernica, and Open Letter, and many others.

This year, in addition, to workshops in Fiction, Nonfiction, and Poetry, we’re offering workshops in Songwriting with Dan Bern; Photo-Documentary Storytelling with Pulitzer-Prize winning Photojournalist Deanne Fitzmaurice; and Book Arts with Portland’s Independent Publishing Resource Center.

Last year's inaugural program was a resounding success, with more than fifty North American writers gathering in Lisbon for workshops, seminars, talks, and frivolity with contemporary Portuguese writers and artists.

This year's program will take place from July 1 – July 13, 2012 and will include workshops in poetry, fiction, nonfiction and translation, literary walks and other excursions, craft talks and readings from North American and Portuguese writers.

The International Literature Award: A full scholarship (airfare, tuition and lodging) is available for the winner of the Dzanc Books / Guernica International Literature Award, judged this year by Colson Whitehead. This multi-genre contest seeks poetry, fiction, or non-fiction that broadens the landscape of North American literature beyond the boundaries of North America. The winning work will also be published in Guernica, one of the best literary and cultural magazines on the web.

Full and partial scholarships are also available through a partnership with the Luso-American Development Foundation for North American writers of Portuguese or Luso descent.

The deadline for contest and scholarships is January 31, 2012.

Further details available at our website, http://disquietinternational.org.