All times are Eastern Standard Time (US).
Thank you for your interest in our writing retreat. Registration is now closed. If you missed registering for this event, please keep in mind we typically hold our writing retreat annually. Also, please subscribe to our email list for news and updates about upcoming programs.
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RETREAT INVITATION
Thank you for your interest in our VIRTUAL writing retreat. Registration is now open. This retreat will be an adaptation of our in-person gathering of Wild and Precious Life held in January 2023.
At this year's virtual writing retreat, we will soak in the wisdom and beauty of the poetry of Mary Oliver. We will use the fire and water of her words to illuminate and wash over our own lives. We will try to capture our thoughts on paper. We will share our journey over the course of our time together.
Poet Mary Oliver
Our spirit guide will be a woman. One of the best known and loved poets in the world, Mary Oliver won both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize for her poetry. Her strong feminine voice has much to teach men.
Mary Oliver’s poetry is marked by accessible language, astute observations, and intriguing, challenging questions. Yes, What will you do with your one wild and precious life?
Before Mary Oliver’s death in 2019, her practice was to get up early in the morning and wander through nature with a notebook in her pocket. Many of her poems contain her observations about nature. We will follow her lead in this respect as we, too, will leave our homes and wander and write down our observations about nature. Of course, we will also have the option to open our notebook, pull up a chair, sip our tea or coffee, and look out the window.
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Illuman is dedicated to helping men on a spiritual journey. That quest is what this virtual writing retreat is about. We choose this time in late winter because we are naturally looking for the growth of spring, and also looking to root ourselves in the here and now.
You don't have to think of yourself as a poet to greatly benefit from this Illuman writing retreat. The event is open to men of all writing experiences—from complete novice to published author. We mainly focus on sharing our journey. Poetry is one vehicle to help us. You won't have to worry about rhyming, cadence, nor other aspects of some classical poetry. In fact, you don't even have to write poetry. You could choose to do a series of journal entries instead, or some combination of journaling and poetry.
The retreat is broken up into multiple sessions.. Each experience will begin with some inspiration from Mary Oliver's work that leads to a writing prompt. After the writing period, all participants will take part in small council groups. Sharing work is optional but strongly encouraged.
We will gather as a large group, but we will also experience some one-on-one time with another participant, as well as small group councils. We will have a full schedule but will take time for an extended lunch and wandering on Saturday. All this is to say that the retreat has a lot of variety in it. You won't be sitting watching experts talk about poetry. You will be invited to be fully involved.
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This will be the sixth year for the writing retreat sponsored by Ohio Illuman. We are thrilled to invite men from around the world to join us in this reflective writing journey as we connect by Zoom to share our real-life experiences.
We begin at 7pm EST on Friday, resume on Saturday at 10am EST (also available will be an early-morning optional activity) and finish at 5pm on Saturday. In between we will immerse ourselves in ritual, writing, discussion, and fellowship. Don't waste this one precious chance to be with other men on the journey of Illumination!
RETREAT DETAILS
WHEN
March 10-11, 2023
Friday (7pm - 10pm)* - Saturday (10am - 5pm)*
*All times are Eastern Standard Time (US).
WHERE
ZOOM
We will be utilizing Zoom to connect.
COST
$70*
See available options below.
