NEW! ITALIAN LANGUAGE, CULTURE AND CUISINE WORKSHOPS WITH CHEF SERGIO The Cultural Association "Officina Culturale Pokkoli & Company will be organizing Italian language and culture workshops during 2010-2011, targeted to varied needs: groups or individuals wishing to study Italian language, culture, or cuisine and individuals pursuing independent research or artistic projects who would like to experience authentic Italy.
See the Chef Sergio page in Our Writers section.
WORKSHOPS, RETREATS, & CULTURAL SOJOURNS for Writers and Artists
Artist Sandra Binion, former resident of Centro Pokkoli returns to Italy
Artist Sandra Binion, resident at Centro Pokkoli in autumn 2007, returns to Italy for her new show BOTANICA in Castello di Buggiano. Click on the link to visit Sandra's website. The exhibition closes May 8, 2011. In Sandra Binion’s work, the laws of physics and biology come under close scrutiny: the dripping patterns made by the action of gravity upon pigments ; reflections rippling in water wherein a solid body has unexpectedly plunged. The organic processes of transformation, growth, decay are captured as they play out upon an infinite variety of surfaces and textures unfolding within myriad microcosms. Whether examining a natural environment or an interior, she focuses her attention upon the little details normally relegated to the edges of our perception : the textures in a shadow cast upon a pock-mocked wall; the zen under weavings of a decomposing leaf, the flickering patterns of mold and lichen on marble limbs of statuary. Her palette is lucid, luminous, luscious, exciting yet restful. The apparent candor and playfulness of her work; the spontaneity of her technique belie a more pondered conceptual approach with Buddhist underpinnings. Alexandra David Neel in an extraordinary book called "The Secret Oral Teachings in Tibetan Buddhist Sects" describes the process through which the mind interprets pure contact with sensorial stimuli to build up and furnish the world in which we live – necessary and yet a prison. To achieve liberation, one must dismantle that illusory structure and apprehend the sheer movement beneath. Binion’s gaze seeks to do just that as it probes that teeming universe; invites us to loosen the binding strictures of our habitual perceptions. To see the world for a few minutes through her eyes is to enter a state of awareness immensely refreshing and full of joy. We are tempted to return to our own little lives with our own eyes open wider and our senses more attuned. --- Linda Lappin
Linda Lappin and Sandra Binion collaborate on a video presentation of TIBETAN APOCALPYSE , Lappin's poem originally appearing in AGNI. Watch video below
Writers Sandy Sims and Jennifer Troester
June 2010 Centro Pokkoli organized a Spirit of Place writers’ retreat for Sandy Sims (left), professional travel writer and journalist, leading member of the Bay Area Travel Writers association and Jennifer Troester (right), creative writing teacher from Nebraska. Jennifer Troester received funding from the Nebraska Writers Project to attend the retreat in Italy. Sims and Troester spent a week in June in Vitorchiano, studying soul of place memoir and deep map techniques with Linda Lappin.
Setting of our August 2010 Writing Workshop: MOCHLOS, CRETE
Let your writing be inspired by the secret itineraries of Tuscia
OTHER CULTURAL OPPORTUNITIES AT CENTRO POKKOLI IN 2010/2011
Study Italian language, culture, or cuisine!
Members of the “OFFICINA CULTURALE POKKOLI & CO.”
can enjoy authentic cultural experiences in a unique context. Workshops are led by highly-qualified members: instructors and professors whose cultural background ranges from literary translation, creative writing (fiction, non fiction, poetry) to linguistics, cultural anthropology, gastronomy and fine arts.
We suggest four types of experiences: 1) workshops for small groups, 2) guided individual study of language and culture with an instructor, 3) intensive study for two ( ideal for couples or friends travelling together) with instructor, and 4) individual projects in any field.
1. Italian language for small groups of members (all levels)
7 day workshop in Italian language and culture, beginning Sunday evenings with a welcome reception.
Includes: 16 hours Italian language instruction; 8 hours Italian culture seminar with three gastronomic workshops:
1 oil tasting; 1 wine tasting; 1 cooking lesson
Ending Sunday morning.
Lodging : with full board in local hotels
2. Individual Study: Italian language and/or culture
For members wishing to study Italian language/culture individually with instructor.
5 day workshop, beginning Friday evenings with a welcome reception
Includes: 16 hours Italian language instruction; 8 hours Italian culture seminar with three gastronomic workshops:1 oil tasting, 1 wine tasting, 1 cooking lesson
Ending Wednesday morning.
Lodging: in rentals
3. Italian language and culture for two
Bring a partner or a friend for an intensive workshop studying Italian language/culture with instructor
Includes: 16 hours Italian language instruction; 8 hours Italian culture seminar with three gastronomic workshops:1 oil tasting, 1 wine tasting, 1 cooking lesson
Ending Wednesday morning.
Lodging in rentals
4. Assistance and support for individual projects
Workspace /Studio space for individual project available
Optional participation in 8 hours cultural/language seminar with three gastronomic workshops: 1 oil tasting, 1 wine tasting, 1 cooking lesson
Are you interested in organizing a workshop of your own in Tuscia?
Assistance and support for group projects organized by members: Centro Pokkoli has helped organize workshops for groups of members from the University of Houston, Converse College, the Kenyon Review, and others. If you are interested in organizing a workshop for members in Tuscia, or bringing a group to Tuscia for a cultural workshop, please contact us.
In the past our Association has organized workshops in literary translation, workshops in adapting texts for the theatre, theatre labs with final performance and video production, geo biology feng shui workshops “exploring the undercurrents of Tuscia”, writers and artist retreats, spirit of place creative writing workshops, genus locii of Tuscia workshops, poetry readings, art exhibitions, food and wine workshops, Italian language workshops, video installations.
Vitorchiano, home of Centro Pokkoli
Who We Are
Centro Pokkoli is run by a non-profit cultural association founded in Rome. We organize workshops, exhibitions, theater labs, and excursions for our members only. Writing Workshops are mainly held in Vitorchiano, a charming medieval village an hour's drive north of Rome. If you are interested in attending a workshop, please contact the workshop leader whose contact information has been provided in our links. They will provide you with updated information concerning prices, dates, and programs.
Why choose TUSCIA for a writing workshop or Italian language and culture course?
Tuscia, north of Rome, nestled in between Tuscany and Umbria is an area untouched by mass tourism, where life still flows slowly following the rhythm of the seasons. Rich in environmental beauties and in sites of historic and artistic interest, it abounds in fascinating itineraries for people who enjoy hiking in the great outdoors,or visiting museums, villas, vineyards, and mysterious archaeological sites. With its varied cuisine based on the local products of the Cimini Hills, of its volcanic lakes Bolsena and Vico, and of its nearby coast, Tuscia has much to offer those who enjoy fine wines and elegant dining, or those who prefer rustic meals cooked on the coals at a local tavern. For more information, see OUR LOCATION page
Our Writers
Pokkoli Writers Gallery
Featuring an interview with Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa , author of Daughters of Stone and Karen Toloui of San Francisco, former resident at Centro Pokkoli
Linda Lappin
author of The Etruscan (Wynkin Deworde, 2004) and Katherine's Wish co-director of Centro Pokkoli Workshop leader for the "Spirit of Place" Creative Writing Online Workshops now available
Peter Selgin
novelist, writing teacher, and painter, author of By Cunning and Craft, Ten Lessons for Fiction Writers Writers Digest Books 2007. Join Peter at Centro Pokkoli for his fiction writing workshop in June 2010
Cecilia Woloch
Poet, multigenre workshop teacher.
No workshops scheduled for 2009
Check back for information
Chef Sergio
founder and director of Centro Pokkoli.
Instructor for "Survival Italian," Italian culture and cuisine workshops.
Discover his recipe memoirs here.
