"Ironically, I'm finding it hard to find words to describe my experience in the Working the Word course. I say 'ironically' because during the course, words simply bubbled up from some previously undetected source deep in my creativity.

This course is structured in such a way that everyone in the course had original ideas, allusions, metaphors and sentiments presenting themselves week after week. We were all stunned and entirely convinced by what we would write in each exercise.

The process is so carefully structured. Each exercise is imbedded into the experience of a specific periods of human experience from which we can all draw. Horst describes it so clearly that even if I wasn't born a Greek legend or a Roman Emperor, I now feel strongly that I know what it could have been like.

I've written convincingly as if I was Ulysses and then as Mark Antony. And, of course, it's that stepping into another's experience is so vital for writing with conviction. This is the magic and joy of the course. I loved the journey through the depth of human experience through history.

I feel greatly enriched at having found a voice, my authentic voice in writing."

"I was fortunate enough to engage in the first working the word course offered by Horst in 2003. It was a thoroughly enjoyable course, and full of inspiration for my work as a class teacher.

By the end of the year even I had noticed a real improvement in the way in which I approached my own writing. Thanks!"

"Working the word was a real journey into my self. It allowed me to be child, tree, warrior, poet, Buddha, lost, found and so much more.

Being led into fairytales, myths, legends and many of histories great works by individuals like Rumi, Shakespeare, Homer etc you get to find that part inside and express it however the picture comes for you in that moment. It taught me to write from the picture in my minds eye, to trust the picture and to simply let it unfold.

This allowed me to just write with out thinking which was great because the process of pre-thought would often stop me before I started."

"As Working the Word journeyed through the progress of humanity, from spiritual beings to post modernism I was able to explore new ideas and attitudes through my writing.

It was a cultural, emotional, social and philosophical writing feast. The most important aspect for me was sharing my writing with other members of the class. I found Working the Word a positive and confidence building experience.

We laughed, we cried and we learned. Working the Word has made me a braver, stronger and more courageous writer. Stimulating and motivating I could not bear to miss a week. My writing confidence has soared."

"As a professional writer, I especially appreciated my year as a student of Working the Word.

Here was a chance to have someone else bring fragments and moments of the world's finest literature and reflections before me; some of these ancient and modern works were familiar, others were not. They all fed me.

This was no dry deconstruction, but a deep dive into the memory and feeling of humanity. They were prompts to my own muse, a replenishing of the well, a provocation to write afresh, from new places.

If you are on the outer journey of learning to write well, and the inner journey of learning to live well, then this course will be a steady inspiration to you during the coming year."

"In this course we did not just write. We traversed through a grand picture of humanity with story and literature to guide and inspire. Horst teaches from another level – just wonderful.

It is an absolute privilege to have the group. The richness of hearing other’s work, as well as the growing realization that the important thing is to have a voice. We are all so different.

Probably the very best thing is the space and encouragement the working the word course provides, to be with the picture, to create with blessed words, blissfully practicing."

"As a Singer/Songwriter, I joined Working the Word for some help with developing my lyrics. I fell totally in love with the process.

It was like being guided into a poet’s playground, where I felt safe enough to explore and develop my own style. Now, not only do I feel more confident with my lyrics … but also feel that I can sing them with much greater conviction."

"I feel very fortunate to have participated in Working The Word.  As an emerging poet, doing this course was like being planted in very fertile soil.

Tracing the evolution of the written and spoken word through human history has not only enriched my knowledge of literature and language immeasurably, but provided me with a strong grounding for my continuing growth as a poet.

As a result of the writing exercises, I generated an extraordinary amount of material that later flowered into poetry that I feel is some of my best work and that continues to delight me.

Breathtaking in its scope, Working The Word is no mere creative writing course but a soulful journey through the enchanted forest of world literature with Horst Kornberger as a delightful and erudite guide. His knowledge of and enthusiasm for his subject is breathtaking and he should be declared a national treasure.

I have no hesitation in recommending this course to anyone who has a love of literature and language and anyone who wants to grow such a love!"

"I see this course as being of greater value than any creative writing or literature courses I have taken as part of my five years of university study.

This is because it is able to successfully integrate 'the spirit' into an exploration of literary works from great human civilisations across the ages.  Essentially, you are able to observe the development of the human consciousness by tracing literary masterpieces over the millennia - and more importantly you are able to take part in this development by producing work of your own.

For anyone with any interest in writing, art or the human being, then this course will help you realise the limitless potential we all have, and the divine compassionate beings we must surely become."

"Classes have been a time for exploring what it is to be alive – a time for culture to live as we taste texts from ancient to modern as though for the first time.

Horst Kornberger has inspired us all with his wide knowledge of literature throughout civilization and time. But his real genius is an ability to inspire a sense of wonder. Through developing reverence for the word, class members have become inadvertent magicians...

With the development of wonder and the encouragement of writers from across the ages (as well as Horst and fellow-adventurers) creativity has flowed. I have been astonished by what unexpected bouquets have been plucked from pens, what doves have burst forth and flown.

For anyone who loves the written word and would like to write more, I have nothing but praise for this course. Working the Word has been an enlivening, joyful, and healing experience."