I've just spent ten days working on my novel in São Miguel as part of the Disquiet Azores Residency. The experience was a magical one, and I can only hint at how wondrous my time in the Azores was.
Every day we gathered from 9am-1pm in the Jardim Botânico José do Canto to write amidst the gardens. And in the afternoons, we traveled together to crater lakes, geothermic pools and a number of hikes that group leader Brendan Bowles insisted were simply walks. The weather was lovely, the landscapes were transcendent, and the company was heartfelt and invigorating. More than a few of those places will certainly be finding themselves into my book before I'm finished, I'm sure of it. We also gathered for two collaborative readings, each anchored by one of our two writers-in-residence: Erica Dawson & Helen Oyememi.
Photos: Writing view at the Jardim Botânico José do Canto . View from the Rose Garden. Poça da Beija (volcanic hot springs). At my reading in the Ponta Delgada Public Library and Regional Archive.
