Poetry, a Retreat at Shalom Hill Farm, October 19-21, 2001

Poetry is a cultural resource that opens up new spaces for seeing the world and feeling our place in it in fresh ways. I am writing to invite you to a retreat at Shalom Hill Farm, October 19-21, in which we will share poetry we love and explore its potential for shaping our worlds anew. Information about the topic, about logistics and about registering for the retreat appears below

A special note. This invitation will reach some people who have not previously taken part in a gathering sponsored by the folk school group. That is great. The folk school gatherings are intended to bring new people together and to be open to people who share the values of wanting stronger communities and working to build them.

The facilitators of the retreat are Nancy Sather, Ilene Alexander, Amy Muse, and Peter Shea

Topic. We are asking each person who participates in this retreat to bring three things

One. Bring a poem you love to share with the group. We also hope that you will bring the book in which you found the poem. In effect, you may bring a whole poet. But we are asking that you survey all the poetry you love, and choose one poem which is especially alive and meaningful for you now

Two. Bring something in words, it may be a poem or it may be prose or a mixture of both, that keeps you going or that enlivens you

Three. Bring something that is not just words or not words at all–music, painting, sculpture, textile, pottery–that keeps you going or that enlivens you.

Here are some of the thoughts that emerged in the planning meeting on September 9 in which poetry rose was chosen as the topic for the October retreat. Space for us to reflect on and share with others our experience of poetry, our enjoyment/non-enjoyment of poetry (at different points in our lives, in different moods, and so on). Bring some favorite poems to spend time with and to share

Spend some time writing poetry of our own-with good exercises to dissolve our blocks and free up our creativity for this–and sharing it. Collaborative poetry (something like the quilt made of individual’s squares that we did at the last retreat?).