FULL To go on a cancellation waiting list, please email me   Writing Workshop: Poetry and Story Inspired by Myth: Saturday, August 19, 11 am – 5 pm. Star of the Sea, Mullaghmore, Co Sligo. Places limited to 12, early booking advised. Cost: €75 / €65 if received by August 12.  For more info go to monicacorish.ie/workshops

Yeats’ poem and Stephanie Meyer’s’s novels were both inspired by myth and legend, fable and fairytale – by the collective dreams that have helped humanity come to terms with an unpredictable world since the beginning of human time.

The list of writers inspired by myth goes on and on: Margaret Atwood in “The Handmaid’s Tale”; Carol Ann Duffy in “The World’s Wife”; Philip Pullman in “His Dark Materials”; WH Auden in “Museé des Beaux Arts”; JK Rowling in the Harry Potter stories; William Allingham in “The Fairies”; Salley Vickers in “Miss Garnett’s Angel”…

Perhaps you think that you don’t know enough about myth to participate in this workshop? You do – from school, from home, from pop culture, we all grow up learning ancient and fabulous tales. Some, such as Queen Maeve and the Táin, were written down; others – of fairy rings and púcas, selkies and changelings – were handed down at bedtime from grandparent to child; and others are alive and buzzing in our minds from watching last night’s television.

In this writing workshop we will read extracts from myth-inspired writing, and craft our own versions of the myths that engage us. You don’t need to do any preparation– just come along with your pen and notebook, and a willingness to be surprised at your own imagination and inventiveness. The workshop will be led by Monica Corish, an inspiring and encouraging Amherst Method certified writing group leader, and an award-winning writer of poetry, short stories and memoir.