Writers inspired by the beauty of Seven Sisters

Writers inspired by the beauty of Seven Sisters

May 10, 2022

Alinah Azadeh, Writer in Residence for Seven Sisters Country Park, recently hosted a writers’ retreat at the breathtaking site and gives an update.

Last month I held the fourth We See You Now creative retreat, produced through Writing Our Legacy as producer, aimed at bringing writers of diverse, global heritage from the South East into the Seven Sisters Country Park and Sussex Heritage Coast area, fostering creative solidarity, through walking, writing and sharing.

A keystone to my residency, it was, as ever, pure joy explore together the natural and cultural heritage of the sublime Seven Sisters Country Park and also out to East Dean and over to Birling Gap.

We had extraordinary luck with warm, bright weather, sandwiched in between rain and storms of the previous and following week!. I had sent out reading materials and provided creative writing prompts which we used to draft new poetry, fiction, landscape-inspired memoir and non-fiction. Among our cohort is Razia Aziz, who you can also meet on a walk  through Cuckmere, by listening into my most recent Colour of Chalk podcast episode

Next week we will be bringing together many of our fellow writers for an Editorial and Creative Masterclass long weekender with renowned novelist Leone Ross, with activity across the country park, Alfriston, Crowlink and East Dean. From this autumn, you will be able to hear some of the completed work completed – as well as use a selection of our writing prompts – to take your own writing and walking journey from the country park.

Before that, I will be running a number of free, public walking and writing events in July. You can already book on to one of them here, on 17 July as part of Festival of the Garden at Charleston.

I will also be walking in solidarity with – and bringing a creative writing activity to – this year’s annual Freedom From Torture South Downs fundraiser walk on 10 July, link and info here, starting out from the country park’s Visitor Centre. Please join us, writer or not!

Read more about my residency and the project here