The following description comes from the event organizer.

None of us are born in a vacuum—we all come from somewhere and, inevitably, that place leaves a mark on us. Our environments impact our relationships to our surroundings, as well as how we view our own selves. This is also true within writing. When we have a sense of place in our poems, we can greater understand its contents. This fixed identity gives us the freedom to think in greater terms than what occurs between the first line and the last line of a poem. How does it reverberate outside of those parameters? Who listens to its call?

Welcome to the Hometowns Retreat. This retreat will teach participants to think of their poems as stories, with defined settings, characters, and arcs. Through workshops and craft talks that emphasize the importance of context, drawing on personal memory, and cultivating “home,” participants will leave the Hometowns retreat with a greater appreciation for the towns that built them, and the tools to craft writing with intention.

The retreat will be hosted by Ari B. Cofer (@ari.b.cofer), author of "Paper Girl And The Knives That Made Her" and “Unfold,” and Caitlin Conlon (@cgcpoems), author of "The Surrender Theory."

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