Novelist/poet Ellen Malphrus
Throughout the months of September and October, the nonprofits Pat Conroy Literary Center and Port Royal Sound Foundation are collaborating on a quartet of educational programs highlighting the interconnectivity of the beauty of our Lowcountry with its capacity to inspire writers and storytellers. Registration is now open for all four programs, with additional details to be found on the organizations’ websites, www.PatConroyLiteraryCenter.org (under the Events tab) and www.Portroyalsoundfoundation.org (under Book a Program).
September 9, 3:00-4:30 p.m. The Prince of Tides Book Club Discussion
Pat Conroy’s 1986 masterwork The Prince of Tides is the quintessential Lowcountry novel, beloved by millions as their point of entrance into the lush southern geography, lyrical voice, and complex interweaving of fact and fiction which define the author’s literary legacy. Join Pat Conroy Literary Center executive director Jonathan Haupt and USC Beaufort English professor and Writer in Residence Ellen Malphrus for a book club discussion of the novel, its major themes, its 1991 Academy Award-nominated film adaptation, its place in the Conroy literary canon, and its lasting impact on Lowcountry literature and lore. $10/person.
September 15, 10:00-Noon. Firing the Clay: A Poetry Workshop
In this writing workshop led by Tim Conroy, poets will explore
Poet Tim Conroy
approaches to revision, considering the content and sound of each word, line, and stanza of each poem. The workshop aims to clarify and challenge identity as poets, to elevate poems through improving habits and engaging in playful revision, to risk failure from disassembling and reassembling for the chance to discover what the clay can reveal, and to forget expectations for an opportunity to find the soul, form, and sound of a better poem. Open to writers at all levels of experience. $45/person
September 29, 2:00-5:00 p.m. Nature Writing: Kayak on the Chechessee and Write about It
We who live in the Lowcountry are fortunate to be surrounded by its extraordinary nature. In this workshop, taught by writer Katherine Tandy Brown, you’ll kayak on the Chechessee River with guides from the Maritime Center for an afternoon immersion in Carolina’s nature at its finest. Then – like Henry David Thoreau on Walden Pond – you’ll take pen to paper and write about any part of the adventure you choose. Dress for a journey on the water, and be sure to bring sunscreen, a water bottle, notebook or journal, and several pens. $70/person.
October 21, 5:30-7:00 p.m. Pat Conroy as Nature Writer
An encore presentation! Conroy Center executive director Jonathan Haupt and poet Tim Conroy will discuss the nature writing of Pat Conroy. From his obscure boyhood poetry to his beloved lyrical adult prose, Conroy wrote about the beauty of our natural world as both wondrous and perilous, using the lowcountry not only as a setting but as the central character of his many books. This presentation will highlight representative examples of Conroy’s nature writing from across the span of his writing life, drawing attention to how Conroy’s relationship with nature is also ultimately a relationship with his deeply felt spiritual and humanistic faith. The presenters will be assisted by students from DAYLO, who will be reading from Pat Conroy’s work and sharing original creative pieces in response. $10/person.
