Join poet, educator, and editor Jan Freeman for the Spring 2025 MASS MoCA Writing Through Art Poetry Retreat. A generative-writing experience at the MASS MoCA Artist Residency Center in the largest contemporary art museum in the U.S. New and experienced poets are welcome!
Poets gather in the entrance of the studios for the fall 2024 MASS MoCA Writing Through Art Poetry Retreat
Poets from around the country and around the world form a supportive community to create dozens of new drafts and poems while experiencing the many ways that visual art opens inspiration, perception, memory, and language. The expansive 6-day writing retreat will culminate in a poetry reading at The Artist Book Foundation, located on the MASS MoCA campus in North Adams, Massachusetts.
Through daily prompts, exercises, readings, and discussions, we will explore new ways of expressing ourselves, heightening our use of metaphor and surprising details in our writing. Morning workshops take place in the galleries of MASS MoCA, the Clark Art Institute, and the Williams College Museum of Art. Afternoons are free to explore springtime in the beautiful Berkshires and to write in your own private writing studio at MASS MoCA. Or to sit beside the meditative reflecting pool at the Clark.
A one-hour private consultation focusing on your individual poems and writing goals is included. In-depth manuscript consultations can be scheduled separately for an additional fee. To apply, please click the link below or email janfreemanpoetry@gmail.com.
Reading a draft aloud in MASS MoCA’s Prow
Immerse yourself in writing and reading poetry, surrounded by community and extraordinary classical, modern, and contemporary art invites a life-changing, expansive oasis in the restorative environment of springtime in New England.
Writing in response to Anselm Kiefer, The Schechina
Jan Freeman and poets reading drafts and discussing writing through the body in the Prow at MASS MoCA
“Jan Freeman’s poetry residency at MASS MoCA offered a unique opportunity. We spent our days writing in our studios and in museum galleries, inspired by the art work before us. Jan provided excellent 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 into my poem, my emotions. I learned so much from Jan’s teaching and guidance and from connecting with other poets.”
“The MASS MoCA Writing Through Art Poetry Retreat exceeded my expectations and gave me sustenance, helping me recognize the necessity of poetry in my daily life and how visual art can help generate new inroads to poetic ideas and daring.
My conference with Jan might be my favorite part of a retreat filled with favorite parts. Her comments about my poems were encouraging, generous, and aimed at considering my goals and where I am now as a poet. I also was impressed with Jan’s unusual prompts, exercises, and her talks about poetry and writing. And I loved the poems she brought for us to read together, which offered new and exciting sources of inspiration.”
Studio space at the museum, accommodations, and cost
Included:
Your own private writing studio at the museum, with 24/7 access.
Free admission to MASS MoCA, the Clark Art Institute, and the Williams College Museum of Art throughout the week.
Private bedroom (queen-sized bed) with shared bathroom and kitchen in the MASS MoCA 2nd and 3rd floor, 4-bedroom apartments across the street from the museum. Please note: there is no elevator access to the apartments.
Boxed lunches from Lickety Split, the museum cafe, are provided April 26–April 30.
Welcome gathering and dinner on April 25.
Free parking.
Member discounts to attend MASS MoCA evening performances that take place during the retreat.
Extras:
The Berkshires in the spring is a haven for cultural and outdoor activities. Enjoy the area’s extensive walking trails and visit the Berkshire Botanical Gardens, Naumkeag Gardens, The Norman Rockwell Museum, Edith Wharton’s home, The Mount, and The Berkshire Theatre Group. A members discount is offered when purchasing tickets to evening performances and concerts at MASS MoCA.
Cost:
$1,600. Limited financial assistance is available.
For questions, please email janfreemanpoetry@gmail.com.
Group poetry reading at the Artist Book Foundation
Apply
Please fill out the application below, including 3 poems and a brief statement of interest and bio. Registration is open until the retreat is full, with a limit of 10 poets. Experienced and new poets are welcome. For additional information, contact Jan Freeman at janfreemanpoetry@gmail.com. Apply now!
Writing in response to Odilon Redon’s “Woman With a Vase of Flowers” at the Clark
Please share this information with your poetry friends and sign up together!