Contemporary Icons: A Creative Writing Workshop

Dr Azelina Flint (Maynooth University) will host a creative writing workshop that will support participants in writing poems about forgotten female icons from history. The session is funded by the AHRC Impact Accelerator project, "Women's Iconography in the Twenty-First Century" and will take place at Lancaster University's Castle Suite. The project raises awareness of women's understudied accomplishments in the ancient sacred art practice of iconography and supports the general public in creating icons of forgotten women from their own communities. The personal encounter between the artist and their subject is central to the icon-making process. Drawing on the rituals and contemplative practices of iconography, Azelina will reflect on how we can encounter the forgotten women who inspire us through writing poems. The group will also work towards devising a method of verse-writing that is inspired by the twelve-step icon-making process. Through welcoming delegates of all faiths and none, we hope to foster dialogue about how images, rituals, and female icons, have enriched our lives with a focus on the things we share.