HYDRA
Literary Holidays & Writing Retreats
for Adventurous Thinkers
Sometimes the best way to find your flow is to change your horizon.
"Writing by the Sea in Hydra" isn't just a title,
it's a promise of uninterrupted focus.
Hydra - where the words meet the sea
Places are limited, contact us now to enquire or reserve your place.
All retreats are curated and accompanied by Anna Kwiecinska - thel contemporary photographs on this site are hers.
Please contact Anna with any queries you may have about joining our groups on Hydra
An island sanctuary for the literary soul
Hydra is more than a destination - it is a catalyst.
Step ashore and join our unique literary retreats led by award-winning authors ...
Choose Your Path
"There is a crack in everything; that's how the light gets in".
Follow the echoes of Hydra's most famous resident. Be inspired by the melancholy and magic that defined Cohen's legendary years on the island.
Led by international best-selling author Joanne Fedler, this retreat offers women an exhilarating, salty-aired space to exhale as we explore the cracks in our emotional and imaginal worlds where the light comes in, to help us access and build a writing practice that fits the shape of our soul. more
READING BY THE SEA IN HYDRA: HALF THE PERFECT WORLD
with Dr PAUL GENONI and PROF. TANYA DALZIELL in 2027
The Literary Retreat for Adventurous Thinkers
Step into the historical heart of Hydra's bohemian past alongside Paul Genoni and Tanya Dalziell, the pre-eminent experts on mid-century Hydra. This path invites you to read and reflect by the sea, exploring the lives and creative output of the expats and icons who made this island a radical utopia. Not only engaging seminars, walks and tours, you'll love the creative prompts to ignite your own creative potential! more
Why Hydra?
The Aegean island of Hydra holds an important, affectionate and unique place in both the history of Australian literature and the fabled decade of the 1960s. During this time Hydra was home to the Australian literary couple Charmian Clift and George Johnston, who became the focal point for a celebrated international colony of writers and artists, which included Leonard Cohen and Marianne Ihlen.
In what has now become a renowned example of post- war bohemianism and expatriation, this group of young like-minded individuals came together to pursue their artistic desires in a place of singular beauty and existential freedom.
To this day Hydra is frequently singled out as a place of great beauty and as an artist’s island. It is a car-free sanctuary where time and artistic engagement offer the possibilities of a contemplative, creative life in a culturally and socially rich space.
This journey will give you the chance to both learn about and experience this unique island setting, and its unique importance in the history of 20th century literature and art.
You will walk in the footsteps of not only Clift and Johnston but also other writers such as Leonard Cohen, Henry Miller, Giorgos Seferis, Elizabeth Jane Howard, Lawrence Durrell, Patrick Leigh Fermor, Brenda Chamberlain and Tim Winton, as well as artists including Sidney Nolan, Nikos Ghika, Marc Chagall, Jeff Koons, and Pericles Byzantios.
