A change of scenery is all some might need to get writing going so I embarked on a five hour drive from my house to find out more about this most peculiar workshop.

With unpaved roads, surfboards, yoga mats and a relaxed warm air seeping into every corner, Nosara is not a place one would consider as a prime literary destination, but one man thinks differently. Clive Matson is on the fourth year on his literary workshop in Nosara and I sat down with the accomplished writer to have a little chat about his ongoing project; it includes getting to know the beautiful nature of Nosara, interacting with great people and a quite successful Open Literary Night, which I was a part of.

His stride is gently paced and relaxed as he walks up to the table; we are under the shade of a mango tree, the view to our right is the powerful Pelada beach, perfect for a relaxed afternoon and to our left, the winding jungle path to the Nosara B&B Retreat, where Clive has created this literary endeavor. So, I asked, why Costa Rica? Why Nosara? And, most importantly, why literature?

CR Star Clive looks to the sky, shrugging his brows and smiling; why Costa Rica? For him, the answer is quite simple:

I have found that it is great to get out of your own culture. I’ve made workshops in Italy, Scotland and within the U.S., and I began to see that just getting away made sense. If you think of places like Europe or within the U.S., they might work, but one knows that Europe is the cradle of Western Civilization and the U.S. still has a certain familiarity, no matter where you go. But Costa Rica is different, it’s cheaper for a start (he grins successfully), and it’s tropical, it’s Latino and that’s great, it’s just a different vibe. When you’re writing and the Howler monkeys welcome you with their guttural sound, you know you’re somewhere special.

CR Star So it’s about the tangible stuff, the details that surround you?

Not only that; the intangible stuff, that aura, be it good or bad, your home gives you, it vanishes when you’re in a different place. The energy of the surroundings is very important and a breath of new, fresh air is sometimes all it takes.

CR Star You change the scenery, but do the people change?

Strangely, you get away from your own culture but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to be around people from my culture. It’s very interesting to see that the people I meet here in the Nosara workshops are close to the same that I meet in other places, and that’s great: it means their goals are the same, a detail so minute, but one that makes me understand and prepare myself for my job.

Still different people, no matter how similar the goal, will think differently.

Completely agree and to work on that, I take to my influences all around life. My literary influence, my “second” father, Herbert Huncke, always had an intensity, an ability to express himself that always stuck on me. Also, if you take my mother, with her comfort during communication, her ease of talking, it was amazing, it was something that you wanted to emulate. Firstly, I followed Beat poetry quite aggressively then, after my degree, I got more of a Post Modern feel, which meant my scope of influences is pretty wide, and that helps in understanding every one coming here.

CR Star And how do they interact? Are you reminded of school children being introduced at the playground?

I like to put it this way: they compete with themselves, but in a great and healthy way. Why? They compete with their inner self because they must. Poets, prose, fiction, journal, non-fiction, memoir, they all come here, writing differently, different styles, moods, influences. Their writing becomes their method of communication and it becomes amazingly interesting.

CR Star So now that you know whom your people are going to be? After four years of doing this, what is it you expect? What are your goals with them?

My goal is very simple, it’s to create confidence but through their creative unconscious. We all have it, we all have that Crazy Child inside us, it’s just a matter of letting him write and start creating.

CR Star Then tell us about WordSwell?

WordSwell is exactly that, it looks to bring out the writer in all of us by engaging their creative unconscious in a dynamic, healing and appealing way. It’s all about the environment and that’s I work hard to create.

CR Star As we see where this workshop is headed to, I am sure the reader can plainly see that this geared towards creation, a thought process to say, so that might lead people into thinking differently of the workshop, don’t you think?

It would, but that’s great! Most workshops revolve around editing, or at least, those are the workshops that are most common. They dictate what sounds, or looks, good in writing. But what we do in this workshop is different. We unleash the writer in them, and that’s great, because they write! Getting them here is the hard part, if one can use that adjective, and once that happens, it’s pretty much smooth sailing because we have let the crazy kid inside us write. We get in touch with emotions here, which isn’t that common.

CR Star So, how can you tell me it worked?

(Immediately he smiled)

I can safely say it worked when I see them writing with comfort. When they are not afraid to express what they have written. Simply put: when they feel good about writing. There’s the evidence.

CR Star Great, that’s a great reaction to get. And you think Nosara helps?

Definitely, the small groups are key, but this place is simply magical. (A howler monkey greets us with his potent grunt, we both smile in irony), isn’t it? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I don’t plan to change this place.

CR Star And what about time? What’s ideal and what’s practical?

Ten days is just enough. We have a lot of week longs, some of them even include camping in the Sierra, but the seven days usually mean that times is just a bit tight, organization is key. With ten days, you even get a free day, excursions, alone time, and all of that helps in developing creativity.

CR Star So, tell me about the cherry on the icing: success stories?

Every one of them who leaves happy, who cherishes writing for what it is and understands they can do it. One funny story, I had one participant who didn’t even consider participating in a literary contest because her manuscript “wasn’t good” enough. Larky, she sent it and ended up winning Honorable Mention. How about that?

CR Star Now getting into writers, hopefully making them think and get that spark going, what’s the mistake they make? What’s the one mistake you’d erase from their minds?

They are blinded by the questions: is it going to make me money? When will it get published? Who will read it? Let’s face it; some of the stuff that gets published isn’t necessarily the best writing around.

That’s not the point and that misleads writers. I’ve seen workshop attendees create far better work than stuff that’s out there. I have always believed that’s the fault of the school system. Remember we have three people living inside of us: the Editor, wishing for everything to be perfect; the Writer, focusing on being a mediator, on joining the work and finally the Crazy Child, the creative one.

They focus on the editor, they focus on the writer, but they don’t focus on the crazy child, on the one that lets creativity run its course. Most of the creativity happens now by accident, the accident gets patched up and that’s it. It shouldn’t be that way.

CR Star So that’s what you transmit?

Yes, I create an oasis of creativity, and for everyone, because urge comes at all ages.

CR Star Anything to tell those writers out there?

Writing is not about others, you have to write for yourself, and that makes for great results.

Clive Matson is the author of Let the Crazy Child Write! and An Eye for an Eye makes the World Blind, amidst many other great work, and has participated in over 3000 workshops all around the world (Now he thinks that number is close to 4000). He comes to Costa Rica every year to the Nosara B&B Retreat and is keen on keeping his workshop going. You can visit his website www.matsonpoet.com or contact the wonderful Nosara B&B resort for more information on this and other retreats.

For questions about the Writing Workshop contact Clive:
Phone: 510-654-6495
Email: [email protected]

To register and for questions about the Nosara Retreat contact Deborah:
Phone: 212-381-1823 (local 506 2682-0209)
Email: [email protected]