Sudden Zen with Paul Muldoon: HLF-WWK 2026 Master Class Announcement
Himalayan Literature Festival & Writers Workshop 2026
Malla Hotel, Kathmandu
3 June 2026
9:00 AM – 11:00 AM
The writing of verse calls for a rare balance: to be fully present, yet wholly willing to let go. It is what William Wordsworth described as “wise passiveness,” and what John Keats named “negative capability.” In a world saturated with distraction—even in our attempts to be “in the moment”—how do we cultivate a deeper, calmer receptivity?
In this workshop, participants will explore practical strategies for entering that state of awareness—one that allows language to arrive with clarity and surprise. Through guided exercises and reflection, the session offers a tested approach to unbarring what Muldoon calls the “gateless gate” of creativity.
Author of more than thirty acclaimed collections, Paul Muldoon is among the most celebrated poets of our time. His honours include the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and the T. S. Eliot Prize. He has served as the Oxford Professor of Poetry, President of the Poetry Society (UK), and Poetry Editor of The New Yorker. At Princeton University, he was the Howard G. B. Clark ’21 University Professor in the Humanities and founding chair of the Lewis Center for the Arts.
Born in County Armagh in 1951, Muldoon began his career as a BBC producer in Belfast before embarking on a distinguished teaching career spanning over three decades. His most recent collection, Joy in Service on Rue Tagore (2024), continues to affirm his enduring influence on contemporary poetry. A Fellow of the Royal Society for Literature and the American Academy of Arts and Letters, he was elected a Saoi of Aosdána in 2024—one of Ireland’s highest artistic honours.
We are deeply honoured to welcome Paul Muldoon to Kathmandu. His presence promises to inspire writers and readers across the Himalayas and beyond.
Himalayan Literature Festival & Writers Workshop
hlfwwk2026@gmail.com
https://hlf.whitelotusbookshop.com/
