2009 - North Keppel Island

Idiom 23 magazine's annual workshop on Writing and Publishing was held in 2009 at North Keppel Island Environmental Education Centre on May 15-17.

The theme of the weekend was ‘Weaving Words on Kanomi', and was conducted by Writer in Residence Robyn Sheahan - Bright. Additional Workshops with Steve Butler were offered and the workshop was coordinated by Dr Lynda Hawryluk.

As always, our writers were mindful of the original inhabitants of the island, and through the weekend focused on slowing down and appreciating the environment. Our friend and colleague Dr Bronwyn Fredericks had these words to offer participants to guide them through the weekend:

‘...think about life as it would have been, day in day out, season in season out, tide in tide out. The sounds of women talking together as they wove baskets, carrying vessels, and as they looked for berries and other forms of food. Think of the men talking with each other and being together out fishing, catching animals, foraging for food for their families. Think of the children, and the lives they had, with their mothers, grandmothers, aunties, sisters, brothers, uncles, fathers, grandfathers, all the people in their clan, together, living life, in motion with the Island, with the tides, with the days, with the seasons. It was a slow life, a balanced life, a period of time when there was time to talk about the important aspects of life, family, animals, there was time to care for the ill and time to grieve properly for those that passed over. There was a time to remember and time to 'remember to remember', so that all would be passed on to the next generation and the generations after that.

In living in this way, everything becomes noticed, observed and known. All living and non-living things are known and exist within the knowledge base of the people who lived there and who still have connection to the place known in these times as North Keppel Island.

Writers at the workshop will gain a glimpse of slowing down over the weekend. They may experience slowing down within their bodies, within their minds and spirits. Imagine a daily existence of being slower and allow to it to inspire and offer power to your creative selves.'

The weekend was a great success, with many returning writers and a few new ones attending. The flyer for the weekend is here and a selection of stunning photographs by Shani Ballantine are here.