Join Jan Freeman, acclaimed poet and Paris Press founding director (1995–2018), for the summer MASS MoCA Ekphrastic Poetry Retreat at the Studios @ MASS MoCA Artist Residency Center in the heart of the Berkshires.
Due to COVID and adherence to social distancing, 3 participants will attend in person and 5 participants will attend via Zoom. All discussions, workshops, exercises, and readings will take place via Zoom. If MASS MoCA must close in August, the retreat will take place entirely via Zoom. Tuition for Zoom participants will be substantially reduced to reflect the online venue.
Explore the many ways that visual art can open your poems and perception in this expansive 6-day writing retreat. Through daily prompts, discussions, exercises, and readings, you will experience how paintings, prints, sculpture, and installations can provide access to memories, emotion, and the imagination. With morning workshops, visits to exhibits (online and in person), and afternoon writing time in your private studio and in the galleries of MASS MoCA and the Clark Art Institute. New and experienced poets are welcome.
Each participant receives a private 60-minute manuscript consultation or a conference focusing on 6 poems of your choice. A more in-depth manuscript consultation is available for an additional fee.
The Summer Ekphrastic Poetry Retreat presently has 3 openings for Zoom attendence. If you would like to be put on a waiting list, please contact Jan Freeman at janfreemanpoetry@gmail.com.
Contact Jan Freeman for additional information and to sign up!
“Jan Freeman’s Ekphrastic Poetry Residency and Workshop at MassMoCA offered a unique opportunity. We spent our days in our studios and in art galleries, inspired by the art work before us. Jan provided excellent (optional) writing prompts that opened me up to my imagination and to new discoveries. For me, the concentrated writing time gave me a chance to go deeper. I learned so much from Jan’s teaching and guidance and from connecting with other poets.”
“The MASS MoCA Ekphrastic Poetry Retreat exceeded my expectations and gave me sustenance that I wasn’t fully aware I needed. The retreat helped me to recognize the necessity of poetry in my daily life and how visual art can help generate new inroads to poetic ideas and daring.
“My personal manuscript review with Jan might be my favorite part of a workshop filled with favorite parts for me. Jan gave my manuscript careful attention, and her comments were detailed, encouraging, and generous, and aimed at considering my goals and where I am now as an artist. I also was impressed by Jan’s talks about poetry and poetry writing to the group, and the poems she brought for us to read and discuss, consider as models and inspiration….”
Studio space at the museum, accommodations, and cost
Included:
Private writing studio at the museum, with 24/7 access.
Private bedroom (queen-sized bed) with bathroom and kitchen in the MASS MoCA 2nd floor, 4-bedroom apartments across the street from the museum.
Free admission to MASS MoCA, the Clark Art Institute, and the Williams College Museum of Art throughout the week. Access to museums will depend on COVID restrictions.
Welcome Zoom cocktail party on August 12.
Free parking.
Extras:
The Berkshires in August is a haven for outdoor activities. Due to COVID, activities at Tanglewood, Jacob’s Pillow, Shakespeare & Company, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and Barrington Stage are canceled this summer.
Cost:
$1,500. Limited financial assistance is available. Zoom tuition is $800.
To reserve your space, contact: Jan Freeman at janfreemanpoetry@gmail.com.
Please share this link with your poetry friends!