Live workshop via Zoom, date TBC
Price: free
‘There is, to speak metaphorically, some design that has been traced upon our minds which reading brings to light.’ (Virginia Woolf, ‘Phases of Fiction’, 1929)
This workshop is devoted to the reader’s imagination and is inspired by how Virginia Woolf reads literary works in The Common Reader and in her essay ‘Phases of Fiction’. Woolf illuminates books by tracing the reader’s unique experience of them: what are we looking for when we approach a particular author? What kind of emotions, pleasure or satisfaction do we draw from each story? What images do we see in our minds as we read?
We will use this method to delve into Woolf’s ‘Time Passes’, the poetic middle section of To the Lighthouse. Through a series of guided activities, we will imaginatively engage with the text and take notes as we read, to discover not only what the text has to say, but how our reading experience contributes to create the literary work. Sharing Woolf’s belief that ‘what the reader has in common with the writer’ is ‘the desire to create’ (‘Phases of Fiction’), and that this instinct is what makes literature come to life, this workshop wants to give the reader’s imagination the attention it deserves, and leave you with a method to keep a personal record of it.
Who is this workshop for? Anyone who is interested in Virginia Woolf and wishes to experiment with reading creatively. You do not need to be a Woolf expert to participate, but to fully enjoy the workshop it would be helpful to have read To the Lighthouse.
How to prepare: Participants will be asked to (re)read the section ‘Time Passes’ in advance of the session.
What you will need:
- A copy of To the Lighthouse
- A laptop with internet connection and a working camera
- Pen & paper
What you will learn:
- Virginia Woolf’s approach to literary works and its benefits
- Note-taking prompts to unlock your own creative reading
- Written takeaways sent by email after the session
To sign up, please fill the registration form below and you will receive a Zoom link via email the day before the workshop.
Free Workshop – Participation Terms
This is a free live online workshop delivered via Zoom.
The session will not be recorded.
Places are limited and offered on a first-come basis, so if you can no longer attend please cancel at least 48 hours in advance to allow someone else to take your spot.
I reserve the right to cancel or reschedule the session if necessary.
Participants are required to keep their camera on at all times and are expected to behave respectfully; disruptive behaviour may result in removal from the session.
Seashore Essays 