The Witty Writer’s anniversary workshop examines how music, art, and other visual forms fuel the craft of writing. 

By Samuel Adeleke 

The Witty Wicklow writers’ workshop, a workshop that aims to bring writers and readers together, celebrated its first anniversary on the 24^th of March at the Arthaus Hotel in Dublin. 

The idea started with Victor Vicente, a writer, who started hosting a podcast and invited his friend Jeroen Vandommele as a guest, where they review and discuss his written pieces. This has grown into a workshop.  

“Jeroen started to write in the main time, and I thought I could expand the scope of the podcast into a writing workshop,” Vicente said. 

 The need for an editor for one of these written pieces led Jeroen to meet Maria Stavropoulou, who expressed an interest in joining the podcast at Vicente’s request. 

“We have been doing it for a year, either online or live, and every month we have different topics,” Vandommele said. 

The Workshop has carved out ­­a distinctive niche in the writing community by offering something unique to its audience. “During the last online workshop, somebody noted that there have been a lot of podcasts about finished books, but not about the process of writing,” said Vandommele

 

“Until you get to finish writing a book, there are a lot of things that people writing books know that you can only discover yourself by going through the grind, failing, and trying different things,” Stavropoulou said. 

 

­­­­­Although she has no written book, she said, “There are a lot of things to learn from being in the process of it instead of, oh, I wrote this book myself,” highlighting the value of the journey rather than just the end goal.” 

Stavropoulou also highlighted the importance of attending a workshop like Witty Wicklow’s. “I was at the Ireland publishing show last week, where there was all the information and advice that it would have taken me years to find out in the writing process.  

“Writing backwards was one of them, just have a point in your story and then ask yourself one question, how did we find ourselves here, what happened before that?” Stavropoulou said.

This new but handy information helped Stavropoulou get out of her writer’s creative block after 3-4 months of being stuck. 

The theme for the first anniversary is “How painting, music, poetry, and visuals influence writing.” This is aimed at exploring and encouraging attendees to find inspiration for their writing through various forms of art.  

Additionally, as part of their regular practice during the workshop, each participant will share a reading and engage in discussions about what inspired or influenced their writing, making this the centerpiece of the evening. 

Vicente is reading from his book, which is inspired by the literary work of Harry Kernoff. Photocredit: Samuel Adeleke 

 “This is a book that I published in October 2023, inspired by Irish British printer Harry Kernoff,It is a typical example of how virtual art and poetry work together, and I thought I could expand that idea with the team tonight,” said Vicente.  

Vicente presents a painting from one of the pages of his book, sharing insights into how art possesses the ability to inspire writing.  Photocredit: Samuel Adeleke 

“I think it is good to bring some art together because today we are all somehow united, and we can all benefit from learning from each other,” he added. 

“All arts influence writing, and with the piece I am going to bring tonight, it’s about my Mum, who was an artist, musician, and a singer, all those things, are what she kind of gave to me. 

“There is a cross-pollination between all arts, and you can learn from different artists and different music genres, and it can bring something to you and definitely inspire you to write,” said Vandommele.

 

“I don’t think there is one single art that is dry, and it is about the self. You get inspiration from your senses, and from other people,” Stavropoulou said. 

“You can’t take the visuals out of the writing, and you can’t take the writing out of the visuals. It is when different things meet that you have the best result,” she added.

 

Stavropoulou highlighted the podcast’s impact on her personality. “Since I started being a part of this podcast, I have become way more curious, I have met more people, and I have been more motivated,” she said. 

“I would like this to be a job, I enjoy doing it, and I enjoy talking to people about it,” she added. 

Not only has the podcast had a big impact on her personally, but has also been a source of inspiration to others. “We’re building a community where people are being motivated to write, and it is really beautiful, I won’t be here if I wasn’t motivated to,” Stavropoulou said. 

“Normally, I like reading books, and I have read Victor’s book in Portuguese, and I like it so much. I joined this community because it is very interesting, and getting to know people’s perspectives on things is great,” said attendee Judani Bijah. 

 Vicente expressed excitement about the growth of the writers’ community, mentioning the numerous upcoming workshops, magazines, and writers’ conferences they have planned for the year and going forward. 

“We didn’t expect to be here a year ago, and we are here a year later. We will keep the podcast going because it has a huge number of listeners. 

“People have reacted really positively to the podcast, and people are coming out to say I have been writing secretly at home, and I want to do it more,” Vandommele said.