Sunday, August 23, 2009

Here is your chair at Ghost Ranch!

How was Ghost Ranch this summer? friends are asking me. It was beautiful as always, the night sky full of meteors, the days perfect for slow hikes to Box Canyon, or just sitting on the porch watching twentyhummingbirds dance around a tube of sugar water.

This summer I found myself in full vacation mode at the Ranch because my writing class didn’t get the requisite number of participants. Writers! Where were you? We need to hold up the literary side of Creative Arts Week. We need your new writing to keep things fresh. We need you and your poems.

Clearly, the economy is keeping many of us at home trying to balance our budgets. I, myself, ate out of the ice chest at the Ranch instead of going every meal to the dining hall. Still, all things considered, a week of creativity and community at Ghost Ranch continues to be a great value. I’ve read that many Americans now are opting for a four day weekend instead of a week’s vacation. We do what we can, but I think one session at Ghost Ranch renews deeply and that renewal has a long shelf life, something impossible to really calculate or quantify.

So, friends, consider October 5 – 11, the Fall Writing Festival.

My class this year is called Aiming High: Learning to Write From Our Poets Laureate.

It will be strong on craft with lots of latitude for experimentation. Come and write with us (beginners welcome) in a supportive environment where you will have a chance to learn from others and deepen your writing life. My classes are playful, seriously. This class will definitely run, as it is already filling, but there is still room for a few more. Ten people, tops.
To register, go to http://www.ghostranch.org/.