RUTH STONE HOUSE
NEXT GALAXY POETRY Retreat
A five day writing retreat and poetry workshop, located in the lush Green Mountains of Central Vermont, and hosted by The Ruth Stone House at the Waybury Inn from August 9-13
About Next galaxy
Next Galaxy Retreat will be 4 full days of rigorous, generative workshop programming limited to ten students in each class with our talented faculty, Mark Leidner and Bianca Stone. Workshops will involve craft discussion, group writing prompts, and supportive, critical discussion of each attendee’s work. Each day is scheduled to include ample time to write and enjoy the historic Waybury Inn in the Green Mountains of Vermont.
Below you can learn more about the Inn itself, the instructors, the schedule (including additional activities), pricing and how to apply.
- 5 Days: August 9th - 13th (last day is breakfast & travel)
- Two Instructors
- Small Class Size
- Green Mountains of Vermont
- Meals & lodging included
THE ACCOMODATIONS
Waybury Inn
Hosted at the historic Waybury Inn in Middlebury, just down the mountain from the Ruth Stone House grounds. This old Vermont Inn is full of sunlit sills, quiet benches and corners to write, surrounded by forests and a beautiful creek.
Mark Leidner is the author of two books of poetry, Returning the Sword to the Stone (Fonograf, 2021) and Beauty Was the Case that They Gave Me (Factory Hollow, 2011), a book of aphorisms The Angel in the Dream of Our Hangover (Two Dollar Radio, 2011), and a short story collection Under the Sea (Tyrant Books, 2018). He also wrote the science fiction feature film Empathy, Inc. (2019). He has taught poetry at the University of Iowa, the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Emory University, and Portland State University. www.markleidner.com
Mark Leidner
INSTRUCTOR
Bianca Stone is a poet, visual artist and dedicated explorer of the intersection of poetry and consciousness. Her books include, Someone Else’s Wedding Vows, Poetry Comics From the Book of Hours, The Mobius Strip Club of Grief and most recently, What is Otherwise Infinite (Tin House, 2022).
Bianca Stone
INSTRUCTOR
next galaxy
DAILY SCHEDULE
*subject to change*
7:30 am Breakfast at Inn
9:00-12:00 pm Workshop Session
12:00pm Lunch
1:30pm Yoga (optional)
3:00-5:00pm, optional field trips
6:00 pm Group Dinner at Inn
7:30 pm Open Mic. Readings and Guest Poets
DIVERSITY & EQUITY
Ruth Stone House is committed to reshaping the communities we touch into those that promote social justice and freedom from oppression, including but not limited to, racism, sexism, classism, heterosexism, ageism, and ableism. Participation in our programming is contingent on a welcoming and promotion of these values. A limited number of scholarships are available for BIPOC students and can be applied for on the general application.
Blueberry Picking
Moosalamoo Trails
Yoga (included with tuition)
Poetry readings with special guests
Visit Ruth Stone House
Lake Dunmore
Tuition & Lodging
All prices include 3 meals a day (breakfast only on the 4th day)
**Please note, you will need a credit card for incidentals at the Inn**
Base Tuition:
$1235 per student
Room & Board:
$300 – $550 depending on the accomodations.
Accomodations range from single occupancy rooms to shared rooms with beds and/or Aero Beds (inflattable mattresses). Accomodations are chosen upon acceptance to the program.Â
Applications can be be accessed by clicking the button below, and include a scholarship application.
Accpetance letters are sent to the email you provide on the application, and include any scholarship notifications.
Deposits can be paid by check, credit/debit or Paypal. An invoice will be sent to you.
Tuition can be paid by check, credit/debit or Paypal. An invoice will be sent to you.
Scholarships
Scholarships and fellowships are now available for the Ruth Stone House Next Galaxy Retreat!
The Ruth Stone House is proud to announce two full fellowships for BIPOC writers, and one full-tuition scholarship for a poet under 40. Additionally, there are a number of partial scholarships available for applicants based on financial need and merit. The success of Next Galaxy relies upon a convergence of communities, culminating in one diverse, equitable and powerful poetry gathering; making the retreat accessible is one way we are fulfilling this mission.
We are grateful for the generosity of the Vermont Humanities Council, The Vermont Community Foundation, the James Tate Scholarship, and a number of committed private donors, who have made offering this financial assistance possible.
How to apply:
SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS are completed during the regular application process.
Keep In Touch
Process and Poem Workshop
with Mark Leidner
In this workshop, we will analyze and discuss not only your poems, but your writing process itself. Obviously, everyone’s writing process is unique to them. One goal for the workshop will be to help each other articulate what our process actually is, think critically about how it affects the poems we produce, and ask ourselves if there are ways to marginally alter or nudge the routines of our distinctive writing process so that our process is more likely to result in the sort of poems we wish to write. We will share poems, discuss their form and content, and share suggestions for their revision. We will also share our process, discuss its form and content, and share suggestions for its revision. We will also think about the process of revision specifically—how it is different, if at all, from the process of composition? Maybe you love the process by which you write original poems but you feel like your revision process is confusing, frustrating, or seems to take forever? Or maybe it’s vice-versa. Either way, in addition to the usual domain of a poetry workshop—critiquing each other’s work, exploring pockets of craft insight, finding inspiration and solidarity in a community of shared readers and writers—we will also put our own processes under the microscope. Participants will leave the retreat with a renewed if not refined understanding of the hows and whys behind their writing practice, newly empowered to mold those habits to fit their unique aims as poets.
Poetry & Consciousness Workshop
with Bianca Stone
For this workshop, students will have readings and prompts sent to them two weeks in advance to prepare for our short but intensive 4 days together. We will focus each class mostly on workshopping poems, while weaving in craft & in-class writing prompts based upon supplementary readings. Students will have a chance to find inspiration for radical revision to their poetry, and get feedback on written works. This class will focus on our ability to gain access to a more generative flow-state in creativity, and also being curious about our whole approach to reading and writing poetry, and the ways in which poetry and consciousness work on the page.
The Ruth Stone House BIPOC Fellowship
Includes: Full tuition, Room and Board at the Inn for a BIPOC poet
Lucy Terry Prince Fellowship
Includes: Full tuition, Room & Board at the Inn for a Poet of Color living in Vermont, or with roots in Vermont
The James Tate Scholarship
Full tuition for a poet under the age of 40 (does not include Room & Board)
Equity Scholarship
Award for $600 reduced tuition for a BIPOC poet.
Andromeda Scholarship
Need-based scholarships awarded to poets of merit with expressed socioeconomic need
