Men, Women, Ritual & the Search for Elderhood
– an evening with poet and ritualist William Ayot
About the Event:
We live in a time of ritual deprivation – our traditional ceremonies often feel empty and lack energy while we have lost the skills and the confidence to create the rituals we need to weather the tumultuous changes we face. This is no one’s fault – no one sets out to impoverish our lives – but the absence of meaningful ritual in our lives diminishes us all and results in a loss of humanity.
After a quarter century of close attention, poet, ritualist and author, William Ayot, comes to this evening of poetry, conversation and ritual with some serious questions: What are the rituals we need in our wounded world? How do we reconnect with our ritual traditions? And how do we develop the elders – and most importantly the ritual elders – we need to preserve, deepen and ground our damaged and narcissistic culture.
About William:
William Ayot is a poet, teacher and ritualist. He led his first ritual workshop for men (on Parsifal) in 1992, and worked in rehab during the nineties. With Wild Dance Events, he organised men’s events for Robert Bly, Robert Moore, and many others while studying the methodology of indigenous shamans and leading initiatory Rites of Passage in Snowdonia.
Co-founding Olivier Mythodrama, he taught leadership around the world for a decade, through story, theatre practice and ritual. He currently teaches on the AMP at INSEAD and is poet-in-residence at Oxford University’s Saïd Business School. He also coaches, and creates private rituals for individuals and groups.
Writing includes the play Bengal Lancer and three collections of poetry, including  E-mail from the Soul, which won The People’s Book Prize. Other writing includes articles on personal development and men’s issues. His latest book is Re-enchanting the Forest: Meaningful Ritual in a Secular World. William is an FRSA and a member of Academi Cymraig, the Welsh Academi.
Details and Registration:
Date and Time:      Tuesday 7th June – 7:00pm to 9:30pm
Venue:                      St Mary’s Church, Kemptown, Brighton, BN2 1PR
Cost:                         By donation
Register to come:   http://goo.gl/forms/1LB2jRAIi0BhPOmR2