Exercises from the Energheia Writing Course 2024

Italian young literature – Learning from Nordic conflicts

Teacher: Ulf Peter Hallberg  (Energheia International Writing Course 2024)

Theme: Opening exercise based around an alter ego, Matera, two characters and a mystery.

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The critical situation

I can tell you that it was lunchtime on Wednesday that Eva’s studio started sliding. The walls of the structure suddenly buckled as if its knees had given out, and the yellow stones scattered like marbles down the hillside, where they settled finally with a sigh of dust and bird wings. Eva was away. I waited until evening to call her.

“The paintings?” she asked.

“The paintings.” I said. The line disconnected.