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SANCHO PANZA LITERARY SOCIETY

SOPHISTICANTS WINTER RESIDENCY 

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2024 WINTER RESIDENCY SCHEDULE

Session Dates

JAN 8 - JAN 17

PARTICIPANTS/GENERAL DESCRIPTION

Since inception, our traditional summer workshop has had writers (published and unpublished) from nearly 30 different universities, which has included undergraduates, graduate students, alumni, and university faculty.  The “Sophisticants” winter residency is specifically geared towards lovers of literature from all walks of life and has a more casual atmosphere than our competitive summer residency.  It features a smaller group (6-10) and is housed in either the on-campus guest house, or the adjacent Trinity or Alex Hotels (your choice), as opposed to the student quarters where summer participants reside.

 

Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama are all welcome, as we favor an interdisciplinary discussion and interpretation of text. And unlike the summer session, submitting original writing is completely optional—you may attend simply as a reader of text, and we’ll be discussing famous published works in addition to participant submitted writing. The winter intersession is a beautiful time to be at Trinity—it’s really only about 10 degrees cooler than in May, and you’ll reside in a Dublin largely absent of tourists, and a Trinity populated only by Trinity regulars (it’s also far easier to get tables at restaurants, and tickets for excursions). We’ll also have plenty of local guest speakers, impromptu dinners, and visits to Dublin literary events. For those interested in further European travel, it’s immensely easy and inexpensive to do so from Dublin.

APPLICATION PROCESS

Applications are rolling. Simply contact Director Joseph Reynolds at ajoreynolds@fordham.edu

ACCOMMODATION, 
FEES & FLIGHTS

In residence at Trinity College Dublin (private rooms and full maid service) or at one of the adjoining hotels (roughly 110-130 euro per day).

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800 dollars per session. While slightly higher than our summer residency tuition due to limited campus availability and smaller cohort size, flights to Dublin are considerably cheaper in winter, and should offset the higher tuition vs the summer program. The academic fee is payable to the “Sancho Panza Literary Society”, and covers Sancho faculty expense, classroom amenities, theatre tickets, and other miscellaneous Trinity costs. Winter participants will automatically become free subscribers to our publication, be listed as donors in both the print and online editions, and of course be invited to all stateside events.

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No mandated flights. People are free to book whichever flight arrangements are most convenient.

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CLASS SCHEDULE & FEATURED EXCURSIONS

10:00am to 12:30 each day—Trinity College Dublin. The academic schedule is hybrid between open workshop of attendee’s work, and open-forum debate of featured published work.

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 Featured Outside of Class Excursions (among others, and all are optional):

Attend a play at the Abbey Theatre

Attend a play at the Gate Theatre

Attend a play at The Smock Alley 1662 Theatre

Attend a play at The Gaeity Theatre

Visit the Book of Kells and the Long Room Library at Trinity

Tour the Dublin Writer’s Museum

Trip to the Irish Sea via a short train ride to the village of Howth (train leaves right from campus and the ticket is 5 euros)

Day Trip to Galway City, The Burren, and the Cliffs of Moher (there will be a “free day” scheduled to allow attendees to take this tour).

Tour Grafton Street and St. Stephen’s Green (adjacent to campus)

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OVERVIEW & FEATURED READINGS

Featured Published Titles:

Brendan Behan—Borstal Boy

Seamus Deane—Reading in the Dark

John Banville—The Sea

James Joyce—featured short fiction

Sally Rooney—Normal People

Mike McCormack—Solar Bones

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Sample Itinerary (workshop meets on campus at TCD; this sample is from the summer session program; the winter session will likely involve more discussion of published work, depending on how many members choose to submit their own writing)

 

Day 1

Meet at Trinity College Clock Tower at 5pm—Tour the neighborhood (Grafton Street, St. Stephen’s Green, O’Connell Street, and the River Liffey).  Opening night dinner.

 

Day 2

Workshop begins--10-1230. Discuss submissions by Laura Rosenthal and Matthew Hawk.

Tour the Book of Kells/Long Room Library. Visit the National Art Gallery

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Day 3

Workshop 10-1230. Discuss submissions by Caitlin Andrews and Tom Keith.

Attend The Shadow of a Gunman by Sean O’Casey at The Gate Theatre.

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Day 4

Workshop—10-1230. Discuss submissions by Laura Rockefeller and Chloe Vassot.

Evening—Attend a play at the Gaeity Theatre

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Day 5

Workshop—10-1230. Discuss submissions by Jordan Rich and Jonathan Stolzenberg

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Day 6

Visit the village of Howth and the Irish Sea via a 20 minute train ride from campus. (This is a stunning place with amazing vistas; the real Irish seaside—and for those of you unfortunate enough to have read my book—the setting of Jane’s death).

Afternoon—Discussion of Seamus Deane’s Reading in the Dark

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Day 7

No workshop. I’m leaving this day open for those of you who want to take the tour west to Galway, the Burren, and The Cliffs of Moher. This trip can be booked through The Dublin tour company’s website (it’s the first option—Cliffs of Moher, Galway, and Burren tour), or in person once you arrive on campus. The tour leaves from upper O’Connell Street in Dublin (10 minute walk from Trinity) at 7am. It’s an all- day jaunt to the wild western countryside of Ireland—Galway (guided tour of Galway City), County Clare, The Burren, the village of Doolin, and the legendary Cliffs of Moher.

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Day 8

Workshop 10-1230. Discuss submissions by Kerry Feltner and Brian Robichaud.

Attend a play at The Samuel Beckett Theatre. Title—to be announced.

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Day 9

Workshop—10am—Round 2 Submissions by Laura Rockefeller and Tom Keith

 

Evening—Attend Dubliners at The Smock Alley Theatre

 

Day 10

Class 10-1230. Discuss Round 2 Submissions by Kerry Feltner and Brian Robichaud

Visit the Dublin Writers Museum

Member Reading 6-800. Book of Kells Courtyard (described at the beginning of this itinerary).

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Farewell Dinner

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