[M]y experience at DisQuiet was absolutely life changing. I will be forever grateful for the things that I learned and the people that I met. I believe that life long relationships have been born. Yma Johnson, 2015 Participant
Category: Testimonials
32 posts in Category: Testimonials
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The workshop with Leslie Jamison, fellow writers and their works, the readings, events, and Lisbon itself, etc.--they all truly surpassed anything I'd imagined. Somehow, in spite of how rigorous and stimulating (and packed) the schedule was, I ended up writing quite a bit. I also managed to go out and explore and eat (a lot) and drink (a bit) and talk and laugh (a lot) and get to know truly amazing folks, some of whom I am happy to call friends now. A group of us were talking about this phenomenon one night and someone offered the theory that the intensity of this experience and thoughtful structure of the program allows folks to be a bit more open and vulnerable--often more quickly--to each other in meaningful ways. I think this has been true for me. Being in Lisbon and participating in Disquiet offered a much-needed recalibration. Esther Lee, 2015 Participant
Elaine Avila on winning the 2014 Short Play Contest
Elaine Avila writes about winning the first annual Disquiet Short Play Contest, her time in Lisbon, and “the exhilaration of being part of a group that is telling its stories for the first time.”
Disquiet 2014 rescued and ruined me: great workshops, great lectures and readings, great people. How am I supposed to get back to real life? Hugo Dos Santos, 2014 Participant
I've had an incredible time, had great conversations with good people, spent time in one of the most beautiful cities in the world and learned a lot about writing. I'll never forget it. Wes Blake, 2014 Participant
Three words for any writer looking to attend an outstanding summer conference/workshop/festival of literature, culture and art exchange: Disquiet. Lisbon. Go. Jamie Figueroa, 2014 participant
Joseph Nichols on “The Summer of My Disquiet”
“Last June, I disembarked from an early morning Portuguese airplane. Two hours and a trip through customs later, my feet hit the cobblestoned streets of Lisbon, Portugal. Temporal and spatial regularities ceased to exist; the city seemed timeless, the air felt, oddly, both British and Spanish at the same time.
I had arrived.”
See more of Joseph Nichols’ EKU Bluegrass Writers Studio blogpost here.
Last year Disquiet for me was life changing. This year, 2012, Disquiet was life affirming. Lara Gularte, 2011, 2012, 2013 participant
This whole experience was almost too good—it’s been nearly impossible to readjust to regular life! I particularly loved how we were [...] engaged by both the academic literary establishment as well as marvelous Portuguese writers. Caitlin Myer
I am most impressed by the way program participants seemed diverse, kind, and easy to be around. But I was also blown away by the degree of preparation and welcome put into our program experience. Aisha Sloan