Date/Time
Date(s) - Monday 14 Sep - Saturday 19 Sep, 2026
All Day
Location
Moniack Mhor, Kiltarlity, Inverness-shire, IV4 7HT
Find the sound and silence in poetry
Immerse yourself in the sonic aspects of poetry and explore the ways words – or their absence – can create a sense of propulsion through sound and repetition. Hanif will share examples from contemporary writing and song, and talk about ways to mirror musicality through the shape of the poem. Jen will explore with you the vital role of silence, which can be a poem’s life-breath. You’ll also lean into listening: for the inner voice, for the voices of the wild world, to the unique nature of your spoken voice, and to silence.
We will be joined for a mid-week evening session by writer, musician and artist Rachel Sermanni, who will share her approach to writing with sound.
Writers at all stages in their creative journey are welcomed.
Tutors
Hanif Abdurraqib is an award-winning poet, essayist, and cultural critic from Columbus, Ohio. His newest release, There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension (Random House, 2024) was a New York Times Bestseller and longlisted for the National Book Award in nonfiction and the winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism. His previous book, A Little Devil In America (Random House, 2021) was a winner of the Andrew Carnegie Medal and the Gordon Burn Prize. In 2021, Abdurraqib was named a MacArthur Fellow, and in 2024 was named a Windham-Campbell Prize recipient. He is a graduate of Beechcroft High School.
Jen Hadfield lives in Shetland. Her first collection, Almanacs, won an Eric Gregory Award in 2003. Her second collection, Nigh-No-Place, won the T.S. Eliot Prize and was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best Collection. She won the Edwin Morgan Poetry Competition in 2012 and the Windham-Campbell Prize in 2024. Her fourth collection The Stone Age, published by Picador in 2021, explores neurodiversity and won the 2021 Highland Book Prize. In 2024 she published her first collection of essays, Storm Pegs: A Life Made in Shetland.
Guest reader
Rachel Sermanni is a Scottish-based singer/songwriter that makes the mundane moments mystical: shock-positive pregnancy tests in train-station toilets, coffee machine breakages, cold river swims, the regret of not saying ‘I love You’, the moon & how it pulls, bare feet on wood floors, the soft glow of a house plant, ‘what even is consciousness?’, strange dreams lingering in quiet mornings… She brims with dreamy indie-folk pop that speak of the struggle and desire to Flow, to love, to live, to feel. Sometimes, her songs speak of the rare moments of quiet-still, found in the midst of this struggle & desire. Rachel is a Jellyfish. Surrendering to the currents of the big sea.
Fees
The full fee for this course is £745. This includes your accommodation in a single room with shared bathroom, all meals, hot drinks and snacks from Monday afternoon until Saturday morning, and your tuition. For more information about the format and practicalities of our courses, tutored courses, and retreats, please visit our About the Residential Courses & Retreats page.
A limited number of en-suite rooms are available, which can be booked in advance for a £50 surcharge. We will also reserve an en-suite room for anyone who may need it due to a medical condition. This will be offered out as an upgrade nearer the course start date if it is not needed.
A small single room with a skylight is available at a discounted price of £720. Please note this room does not have an ordinary window, only a small skylight.
Two non-residential places are available on this course at the price of £440. This includes all meals, hot drinks and snacks from Monday afternoon until Saturday morning, and your tuition. You will not be assigned a room, but you will be able to access communal spaces and evening events throughout the week. You will not be able to stay overnight at the Centre. Read our non-residential frequently asked questions for more information.
A deposit is required to secure your place, which is non-refundable after a 14-day cooling-off period. The remainder of the course fee is due six weeks before the course begins. Please read our Terms & Conditions for full details about our cancellation policy. If you would like to pay the full amount in advance, please email info@moniackmhor.org.uk.
Bursaries are always available, and you also have the option to pay in instalments. If you have any problems paying online, or wish to discuss paying in instalments or applying for financial help, or would simply like assistance, please contact us by emailing info@moniackmhor.org.uk.
Access
Please let us know in your booking form if you have any access requirements, for example a ground floor bedroom and/or access to a step-free accessible shower room. We also reserve one en-suite bedroom per course for anyone who may need this due to a medical condition.
We have a limited number of twin rooms available on site. If you need to book a twin room for access reasons, please book a standard single room and mention in the comments box that you will need a twin room.
For more information about access to our courses, please visit our Access page.
Terms and Conditions
Please read our Terms & Conditions before booking.