"Tell all the truth but tell it slant"
- Emily Dickinson: 1263
What did Dickinson mean when she asked us to tell all our truth but 'tell it slant'? What is this 'slant' made of? Does it lie in the suggestiveness of a poem, in its stylistics, or in its formal shape? What elements of a poem become that necessary detour, that 'circuit', which makes our otherwise unbaked feelings and truths acquire the shape of a poem?
Two poets, Aditi Rao and Akhil Katyal, long-time practitioners and teachers of poetry, are offering this five day poetry retreat, where you will learn and practise key elements of poetic craft: sound and rhythm, line and stanza breaks, image and metaphor. And as you grow out your toolkit of poetry with these elements, you will also learn and practise two distinct poetic forms: the ghazal and the haiku. Throughout the retreat, the focus will be on supporting you in expanding even the rawest feelings and deepest held truths into poems that communicate and move. With every new tool you learn, your writing will grow in complexity and confidence.
And through it all, the mountains surrounding Camp Nomad will bear witness to our truths. All sessions will be conducted in the Baithak, which boasts incredible views of valleys, mountains, and on clear days, the distant snow peaks; here, we write and share our words with one another, letting the Himalayas reassure us of something older and more solid than any anxieties we might bring to the table! Between sessions, there will be walks, open time to yourself, traditional Himachali food and music, campfire conversations, and stunning night skies.
Our goal is for you to leave the camp not only as a more proficient poet but also as a gentler and braver poet, more able to tell your deepest truths by learning how to tell them “slant”.
Camp Nomad, Fagu
is located along the Old Hindustan Tibet Road (NH 22), about an hour’s drive from Shimla. The camp spans 2 acres and is the perfect balance between wilderness and comfort, boasting of luxury tents, running hot water, hundreds of wildflowers, stunning night skies, and a 360 degree view from the highest point.
Dates
19 June 2023 - 23 June 2023
Costs
Twin sharing:: Rs. 34,000
Single occupancy (based on availability): Rs. 40,000
Accommodation is in Swiss Tents, with British Campaign Style furniture, all modern amenities, and attached bathroom with shower and geyser.
This cost EXCLUDES:
Travel to Fagu from participants’ respective cities
Additional food, alcohol etc.
Medical expenses beyond first aid, if needed
Insurance
Other Personal Expenses
This cost INCLUDES:
5 Writing workshop sessions spread out over 4 nights, 5 days
1 individual session with the guest poets per person
Accommodation for 4 nights, 5 days.
Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and 2 rounds of chai and snacks from 4 PM on Day 1 to 1 PM on Day 5
Optional Guided Mountain Walks
Bonfires each night
Special local Himachali dinner one night
Live Music on one night
Basic first aid and stationery
Registrations close 12th June, but seats often fill up much earlier. If you’d like to reserve a spot, please contact me at the earliest at contact@aditirao.net
Schedule
Day 1
2:00 PM - 4 PM: Arrivals: Amit or Sher Singh from Camp Nomad will coordinate with you to in case you need help booking transportation from Shimla or Chandigarh. If you drive from Delhi or take the morning Kalka Shatabdi, you can comfortably make it to Fagu before 4 PM. If you were already in Shimla the previous night, you can head to Fagu after lunch and just use the extra time to settle into camp or go for a walk nearby.
4:00 - 4:30 - Chai and Snacks
4:30- 5:30: Once everyone has settled in, we gather as a large group to introduce ourselves, walk you through the camp space, and go over the schedule for the upcoming days. We will also generate a list of first agreements — a set of principles that will guide our time together and help create and sustain a space that is simultaneously safe, challenging, and nurturing for everyone.
6:00 - 8:00: Akhil and Aditi co-lead a session in the basic elements of poetic craft, offering an overall introduction to poetic techniques and form.
8:00: We end the day with dinner and a bonfire, leaving you to have an early night or to stay up late watching the stars.
Day 2
7:00 - 8:00: Enjoy your morning tea with spectacular valley views— if you’re feeling particularly ambitious, wake up a bit earlier and watch sunrise from the peak. There will also always be an optional writing prompt to accompany your morning chai.
8:00 - 9:00: If you’d like to stretch your limbs a little, join Amit for a guided walk through the nearby orchards and villages. We will take a different route each day, and the walks will never be particularly strenuous, just opportunities to start your day with fresh air and a little exercise. We will conduct part of each walk in silence.
9:00-10:30: Return from your walk to a hot breakfast and a little time to catch your breath and prepare for your day.
10:30 - 1:00: We open our first full day at Camp with a session by Aditi on Image and Metaphor as our first entry point into telling our truths “slant.” We use readings, games, and writing prompts to learn to tell our stories in non-rational but deeply real ways.
1:00 - 4:30: Enjoy a leisurely lunch, followed by an open afternoon to write, read, explore the area, or get some rest. There will always be a bowl of writing prompts for you to use in your off-time if you would like.
4:30 - 5:00: Chai Break
5:00 - 7:30: In the evening, Akhil takes you on a journey through he worlds of sound, rhythm, and meter, exploring all the ways in which you can use the musicality of the written word to layer meaning and emotion in your poems.
8:00: We close our first full day together with a bonfire with live music. As always, you are free to retire early for the night or stay up late stargazing (did we mention that, on a clear night, you can see the entire Milky Way from the camp?)
Day 3
7:00 - 8:00: Enjoy your morning tea with spectacular valley views— if you’re feeling particularly ambitious, wake up a bit earlier and watch sunrise from the peak. There will also always be an optional writing prompt to accompany your morning chai.
8:00 - 9:00: If you’d like to stretch your limbs a little, join Amit for a guided walk through the nearby orchards and villages. We will take a different route each day, and the walks will never be particularly strenuous, just opportunities to start your day with fresh air and a little exercise. We will conduct part of each walk in silence.
9:00-10:30: Return from your walk to a hot breakfast and a little time to catch your breath and prepare for your day.
10:30 - 1:00 PM: In this morning session, Aditi takes you on a journey of understanding the visual aspects of poetry — the ways in which line and stanza breaks can shape meaning, create depth or irony, and transform your writing. We will read together, do some exercises, and then bring our new knowledge to our own writing.
1:00 - 4:30: Enjoy a leisurely lunch, followed by an open afternoon to write, read, explore the area, or get some rest. There will always be a bowl of writing prompts for you to use in your off-time if you would like.
4:30 - 5:00: Chai Break
5:00 - 7:30: The Ghazal is one of the most popular forms of poetry in the Indian subcontinent, and this evening, Akhil will walk you through the different elements of this age-old form. Using your knowledge of image, metaphor, sound, and line breaks, you will write your own ghazals, in English or Hindi, and get a firsthand sense of the musicality of this form.
8:00: Enjoy another dinner under the stars, and get some rest or stay up late writing and sharing!
Day 4
7:00 - 8:00: Enjoy your morning tea with spectacular valley views— if you’re feeling particularly ambitious, wake up a bit earlier and watch sunrise from the peak. There will also always be an optional journaling prompt, usually based on narrative therapy exercises, to accompany your morning chai.
8:00 - 9:00: Join Amit for one more walk through the nearby orchards and villages, a different one each day
9:00-10:30: Come back from your walk to a hot breakfast and time to catch your breath.
10:30 - 1:00: For our last morning session of the retreat, participants will explore haiku, the Japanese poetry form that traditionally explores nature and seasonal changes — both of which you will have been constantly surrounded by during your time at the retreat!
1:00 - 3:00: Enjoy a leisurely lunch, followed by an open afternoon to write, read, explore the area, or get some rest.
3:00 - 6:00 PM: Each participant will get a 30 minute one-on-one session with either Aditi or Akhil to discuss their craft in more detail and get ideas for how to move forward in their poetry. Those not in session at any given point can use this time to go for walks, take a nap, read, or use the bowl of writing prompts to continue creating.
4:30 - 5:00: Chai
7:00 PM - 8:00 PM: After the open afternoon, we meet at 7 PM for a closing circle, during which we throw a ball of twine around the room, thank each other, and close our time together with hugs and photographs.
8:00 PM: For our last dinner together, enjoy a traditional Himachali feast cooked by our local chefs.
Day 5
7:00 - 8:00: Enjoy our last morning together with tea and spectacular valley views— and if you haven’t yet woken up for the sunrise, today would be a good day to do so!
8:00 - 9:00: Join Amit for one more walk through the nearby orchards and villages, taking in the fresh air and friendly people, and saying your “see you later”s to the mountains.
9:00 - 10:30: Come back from your walk to a hot breakfast and time to catch your breath.
10:30 - 12:00: We pack our things, share one last cup of tea, hug each other again, and begin our journeys back to Shimla/ Kalka/ Chandigarh in time to catch the Shatabdi, the toy train, an evening flight, or the overnight Volvos. In case you would like to stay another night before heading home, do speak to Amit beforehand: he may be able to host you for another night if you book in advance.
To Register
Please email me, or message me through the Contact Me page, once you are ready to register.
Your seat will only be confirmed once you make the payment in full, via online transfer or by depositing cash or a cheque in a local bank branch. Because we have to pay various vendors for Camp, we do require the full amount upfront in order to confirm your seat.
Registrations close 12th June, but seats often fill up much earlier. If you’d like to reserve a spot, please contact me at the earliest at contact@aditirao.net
About the Facilitators
Aditi Rao is the author of two full length poetry collections, The Fingers Remember (Yoda Press 2014) and A Kind of Freedom Song (Yoda Press, 2019), and she has published poems and essays in several national and international publications. Her writing has won many awards and fellowships, including the Hedgebrook Residency, the Akademie Schloss Solitude Fellowship, the TFA Creative Writing Award, the Srinivas Rayaprol Prize for Poetry, and the Muse India Young Writer Award. She has taught writing since 2005.
Akhil Katyal is a writer, teacher and translator based in Delhi. He is the author of three books of poems 'Like Blood on the Bitten Tongue: Delhi Poems' (Westland-Context), 'How Many Countries Does the Indus Cross' (TGIPC) and 'Night Charge Extra' (Writers Workshop). He also co-edited 'The World That Belongs to Us: An Anthology of Queer Poetry from South Asia' (HarperCollins India), and translated Ravish Kumar's 'Ishq Mein Shahar Hona' as a book of prose-poems 'A City Happens in Love' (Speaking Tiger). He teaches Creative Writing at Ambedkar University, Delhi.
Cancellation Policy
In case you need to cancel for some reason after you have paid, the Cancellation policy will be:
3 - 4 weeks before Day 1 of Camp: 50 % refund
2 - 3 weeks before Day 1 of Camp: 25% refund
Less than 2 weeks before Day 1 of Camp: No refund. The only exception to this rule is cancellations due to a medical emergency or a positive COVID result; in this case, please provide us a copy of your test report, and we will make a full refund.
Trip Disclaimer
We highly recommend that all participants are double vaccinated by the time of travel. Additionally, depending on the COVID situation closer to the date, all participants may also be required to have a negative RTPCR test result in the 72 hours before travel. We understand that this may be an inconvenience, but we ask for your understanding and support in keeping everyone safe.
Please observe all COVID safety protocol and let us know immediately in case you develop flu-like symptoms.
We will have a basic first aid kit at camp, as well as a nursing assistant on standby for medical emergencies. However, if you have any known medical conditions or allergies, please carry your medication with you as there are no chemists in the immediate vicinity of Camp Nomad. Further, in case any participant requires medical attention beyond what can be provided at Camp, we will help organise transport to the nearest hospital. All extra medical and transportation expenses will be borne by the participant.
In keeping with travelling sustainably, please minimise plastic use and ensure you do not litter in the natural areas.
If for any reason you have to leave the trip early, you will not be entitled to a refund. We will not be liable for any expenses incurred to you as a result. However we will do our best to help make all arrangements for you to return to Shimla or your final destination at the earliest.
If the behaviour of any participant is likely to cause distress or harm to themselves, our staff or other team members, we reserve the right to terminate their trip at any time and they will have to make their own arrangements; we will not be liable for any expenses incurred as a result.
