*** Winner selected! Congratulations to Suzanne — Hope you enjoy the retreat! ***
Here’s your chance to spend a blissful weekend writing in the desert — getting inspired by the natural habitat around you while communing with and learning from fellow writers and artists.
That’s the goal behind The Joshua Tree Experiential Arts and Writing Retreat, happening November 17 to 19 at Mojave Stars Ranch in Wonder Valley. This weekend event includes explorations through Joshua Tree as well as creative writing exercises and ecology talks — plus a unique opportunity to publish your newly-created work.
Poet Ariel Fintushel, one of the two facilitators the event along with San Francisco poet Sean Negus, sums it up as “a 3-day retreat in the desert with experiential arts and writing workshops leading participants through the ecosystem for generation of new culturally conscious work to be curated into an annual anthology.”
As you might expect from the setting, the schedule includes some very Californian activities — a desert initiation workshop, high noon ceremony, and a talk called “Altered States and Psycho-Spiritual Legacies of the Desert” among them. But the core of the schedule is geared towards getting participants to generate writing. There’s goal-setting on the first night, lots of site-specific writing exercises, process discussions, and open times for individual writing.
Interested? Check out the full schedule on the retreat website, then enter to win a ticket to the retreat by leaving a comment on this post with a brief reason why you’d like to go. The giveaway closes September 21, 2017 at 11:59 pm PST.
Or if you can’t wait for the giveaway to run its course, get your Eventbrite ticket now at the early bird price of $50. If you wait, the ticket will go up to its regular $125 price.
Keep in mind the ticket covers just the workshops and scheduled events. For lodging, camp on the cheap at Indian Cove — or if that’s not your style, book a nearby hotel or airbnb.
I’d love to go to the retreat myself, but I’ll be out of town that weekend for the Miami Book Festival. I’m looking forward to reading the anthology though —
The Joshua Tree Experiential Arts and Writing Retreat. Mojave Stars Ranch, 4815 Meriwether Road, Wonder Valley. Fri, November 17, 2017 – Sun., November 19, 2017.
Photo by Christopher Michel
Joshua Tree has long been a place of retreat for me- for camping, hiking and stargazing. This is a perfect setting to write, especially poetry. And as a poet and a mom on a tight budget, I’ve been looking for a writing retreat that won’t break the bank! Thank you for this heads up, as $50 is a great price. Write on everyone!
I would love to go because Joshua Tree has suddenly begun to appear in my writing, and I’ve been looking at so many pictures of the rock formations and reading the lore, like the burning of Gram Parsons’ body there. To actually see it and write there would be like fulfillment of what I didn’t know was prophecy.
I’d love to go – for the retreat AND for the wonderful Joshua Tree scenery!
I’ve always loved Joshua Tree. Drove through often. I had friends there. Of course, our school bus passed through 5 days a week on it’s merry way to 29 Palms High School. I’d like to see more of what I missed just passing through. Writing a book was on my Bucket List. I think I should go and ponder more on that #3.
I’d LOVE to go on this retreat because generative writing is the most helpful for me when it comes to workshops. Since moving to California just about a year ago, I’ve been inspired by all the scenery and landscapes I’ve come across; from Paso Robles to Pismo Beach to the Redwoods to the Sequoias! I only made it to Palm Springs for such a short time, one day, and need more time among the Joshua Trees to see what motivation and magic they can offer! Thanks for this awesome opportunity, and whoever wins is so lucky to see this part of the world, this very special part of California. Thanks again! xoxo!
I have never been to Joshua Tree. It would allow me to truly open my eyes and creative mind. Most of all, to write without the ever-present reminders of all the things I should be doing instead of writing.
I could listen to the stories that the desert tells in the silence and the natural landscapes. And in turn let them become a part of my literary imagination.
As a librarian and longtime bibliophagist, I have dreamed of writing a book…or a collection of short stories…or a novel in stories ^_~ Contrary to popular belief, librarians do not sit around all day reading and checking out the odd patron. Between reference, community outreach, collection development, and a multitude of other functions, we can only read (or write for that matter) on our own time, just as with any other honest, hardworking folks. Thank you, Siel, for extending this chance commune with the desert and other writers. Good luck to all!
Being a low desert resident since 1999, I retreat to and bring friends to Joshua Tree to experience it’s wonder and beauty. I’m now at the point where when I arrive in the park I see familiar friends in the rock formations and always find new friends as well.
It seems silly to simply say I’ve always wanted to go to Joshua Tree, but its the truth. I’ve lived near the beach in SoCal all my life so something about the dry desert land always seems to catch my interest. My birthday is tomorrow and I was trying to talk my friend into making the drive (not joking), but timing wasn’t quite right. Winning this will finally get me there 🙂
Suzanne is the lucky winner! Hope you enjoy the retreat!