I spent the first two weeks in Greece, attending a writing workshop/retreat. Upon returning I’ve been asked by several people my thoughts on the retreat and I thought I’d share it with the writing community at large…or anyone who stumbles upon this blog. 😉

The retreat was held at the gorgeous, and remote, Dalabelos Estate on the island of Crete. This had both advantages and disadvantages. The advantages: The writing group took over the estate and there were no other guests there, which was really lovely. It was a beautiful setting – there was an infinity pool, a communal patio that was shaded by two mulberry trees that offered a lovely place to congregate or read or write. The estate was surrounded by olive groves and there was a dirt road I ran or walked daily. The rooms were basic but comfortable, clean and functional. The disadvantages: there were no other options for food. There was a very small village a 15-minute walk away that had a bodega. There I bought bread and peanut butter, cheese and chocolate, and was able to cobble together enough to eat so I wasn’t eating at the estate’s restaurant for every meal. (Breakfast was included in the retreat.) It’s not that the food wasn’t good – it was, but it wasn’t the most amazing, or anything I found particularly special – except for maybe the feta cheese they made onsite, that was delicious. But otherwise the food was good but nothing I got really excited about. And, eating 3 meals a day at a restaurant gets pricey very quickly, even if the meals were reasonably priced (~15€ each, without wine). The remote location meant that if you wanted to go anywhere you had to coordinate a taxi. Several times I ran to the sea (about 3 miles away) but it wasn’t the easiest way to get to the water.

The daily schedule was as follows:

9-10:30am: Breakfast (served onsite)

11am – 12:30pm: Writing Workshop

12:30pm – 5pm: Free time

5pm – 6:30pm: Greek language and culture class (optional)

7pm – 8pm: Readings

8:30pm: Dinner

Like the location, this schedule had both advantages and disadvantages. Because I’m a morning person, I woke early each day and watched the sunrise from my balcony while drinking coffee and journaling.

After my morning coffee I had time to get in a run or a long walk before breakfast. I liked because it mimics my daily routine at home: walk my dogs, drink my coffee, exercise, and then have breakfast. So this worked well for me. The workshop was held outdoors, in the courtyard area and this was lovely.

For me though, there was a bit too much free time in this schedule. In other retreats/workshops/conferences I’ve attended, each day has included a longer, usually 3-hour workshop, and this is what I prefer and what I expected. I also expected to be in a workshop with Aimee Nezhukumatathil each day — she was one of the reasons I chose to attend this specific workshop; I wanted to work with her. Instead, each daily workshop was taught by a different person. Aimee did teach 3 of the 8 daily workshops but this wasn’t what I expected or wanted. Also, a couple of the workshops were geared more toward fiction or CNF – they focused on setting and character building and while those are interesting, they have less impact in poetry. I did have a short one-on-one meeting with Aimee and she gave me some great advice on a couple of poems and on how to arrange my new manuscript, but again, I had expected to be working with her in a smaller group the entire two weeks.

Now, the cost. This was an expensive endeavor. It was $4,150 for double occupancy. That does not include airfare, which was also very expensive – my flights were $1,700 but I opted to upgrade to business class for the 11-hour flight home. Without this upgrade the flight was $1,350 – still very expensive. And while all breakfasts are included, it only includes a couple of dinners (welcome and farewell dinners) so the guidance is to allot another $600+ for meals. I don’t think I spent that much on meals because I no longer drink alcohol and I often had a dinner of bread, cheese, and chocolate on my balcony.

I had expected the high cost would mean an older, more serious crowd – people in the 30+ age-range. This was completely wrong. Because all of the writers who taught at the workshops are college professors, 95% of the participants were undergrads. And while most were lovely people, a person in their early 20s is different than a person in their early 40s. This is fine, this is how it should be. But it meant that had it not been for my roommate, a lovely 60YO woman who I got along with fabulously, I would have been lonely… And I’m an extrovert who likes talking to people, especially other writers! But the large age gap meant they wanted to party more, stay up late, and unfortunately, create drama. This is not to say that older people don’t create drama – they certainly can and do – but I try to avoid it when possible because I just don’t have the tolerance for it. But when you’re staying on a secluded estate…well, let’s just say, it’s impossible to avoid.

I no longer drink alcohol and have no problem with people who do drink. In early 2020, I quit drinking for medical reasons but my husband still drinks alcohol and most of my friends do. It doesn’t bother me. But none of my friends drink with the goal of getting drunk, they’re just past that stage in life. Yes, in our early 20s we often went out drinking with one intention: we were getting drunk! But as you get older, and hangovers get more painful and last a hell of a lot longer, the goal of drinking to get drunk holds less appeal. Yes, sometimes you’re enjoying food and drink with friends and so you get drunk without planning to but this usually isn’t the goal of the evening. So to be around people who are drinking to intentionally get drunk was…well, annoying and exhausting. And then to get woken up at 2am because someone is having a screaming match with their boyfriend on their balcony (we slept with the windows open because the evenings were so mild)…well, it’s not the most fun.

While I wrote a lot while I was there and am grateful for the manuscript guidance I received from Aimee, had I known the workshop format and the demographic of the participants, I likely would have picked a different workshop. If it had been more affordable, I might have been swayed to still attend, but given the trip was over $6k, I think I could have found a workshop/retreat that was closer to what I was looking for. Overall I’m grateful I got to see and experience Crete, I’m grateful I wrote a lot of poems and spent time in the sunshine, away from my work email and daily obligations, but I wish I had known more specifics about the workshop structure and participants so I could determine if it was the best fit for me.