In a setting of outstanding natural beauty, an opportunity to spend time creatively; word spinning, story writing, myth making.  A chance to write, to be inspired, to travel within and explore beyond; to dream deeply and take the dream further. For just a few weeks each year, arts and travel organisation Espirita is dedicated to exploring the world of Poetry and Writing within the inspiring natural resource of South West Crete - one of the most beautiful parts of Europe.  The village of Loutro is intimate, ancient, friendly, and tranquil - equally good whether alone or in company.  Loutro and it's surrounding environment serves as our centre.  Bounded by this positive, nurturing energy, our writing courses bring together people, experts, ideas and artistic creativity.

Eight clients per course maximum

Introductory to Advanced courses

Individual creative space

Independent travel arrangements

Great food and social ambience

Clare Pollard has published four collections of poetry, the most recent of which is ‘Changeling’ (Bloodaxe, 2011), a Poetry Book Society Recommendation. Her play ‘The Weather’ premiered at the Royal Court Theatre and her documentary for radio, ‘My Male Muse’, was a Radio 4 Pick of the year. She recently co-edited the Bloodaxe anthology ‘Voice Recognition: 21 poets for the 21st Century’ and is on the board of Magma poetry magazine.

Jemma Kennedy is a playwright, novelist and screenwriter with extensive teaching experience at City Lit, the Arvon Foundation and various universities. She also works as an independent consultant and script editor in theatre and film. Her first novel ‘Skywalking’ was published in 2002 by Penguin. She has been Playwright in residence at the National Theatre and is currently writing mentor for the Koestler Foundation.

David Swann born just up the street from the novelist Jeanette Winterson, his short stories and poems have been widely published, with five successes in the Bridport Prize. 'The Privilege of Rain', based on his experiences as a writer-in-residence in a high security jail was shortlisted for this year's Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry. He is a Senior Lecturer in English & Creative Writing at the University of Chichester, where he has tutored a number of successful novelists.

Course based feedback & work in progress sessions ( 1-2 hrs ) take place each evening, except on one of the middle evenings of the course, for writing time. At the discretion of the course leaders, short private tutorials may be offered. Within these arrangements, Espirita supports whichever way a tutor conveys their ideas, whether highly structured or deeply intuitive.

Evenings are leisurely and sociable, with course participants tending to meet up at various of the local restaurants and bars. At the end of each course, we often arrange a night time boat trip to a nearby bay for readings of course work, food, wine, moon, stars etc…

Fortnight’s Writing Holiday - The course dates and contents offer maximum flexibility for those staying for two weeks. You can choose between Poetry & Poetry, Writing & Writing, Poetry & Writing or Writing & Poetry. For those booking two consecutive courses, there is a £50 discount payable upon completion.

Climate - Apart from an occasional windy cool day, there is a 90-95% chance of perfect weather with highs of 27-33°C in both June & September. Evenings and nights can be cooler in June, for which jackets, sweaters and scarves might be appropriate.

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