Devonfield Writing Retreat

About This Bending Genres Retreat

The fine line between prose, poetry, and creative non-fiction will be explored during this multi-genre workshop. How can your work sing? Do your poems lack insightful narrative that can tell the deeper message, enrich their meaning? Are your stories too structured, too flat? Like mixing paint onto a canvas, the backdrop of this workshop will heighten exploration, and enable us to seek new modes of expression.

Vaughan has authored six published collections, and in each he blends genre, plays with form, collaborates, and modifies voices so that they carry beyond the page. His newest is Askew (Cowboy Jamboree, 2022). His work is risk-taking, nature inspired, and infused with the surroundings of environmental writing. His work has been compared to William Burroughs, and David Lynch. Vaughan will encourage you to try new hybrid forms, and look at your writing in alternative ways.

Tuite has authored four published collections and six chapbooks that rock the landscape between prose and poetry. Tuite’s newest is White Van (Unlikely Books, 2022). She is all about plunging into the deep waters. Joe Millar calls her work ‘Bukowski on Zoloft’. She will help you uncover those aspects of your writing that are hidden behind fear. You will activate your imagination, spark your creativity, and free your spontaneity during our retreat.

Vaughan and Tuite’s Bending Genres retreats are simple in format, yet potentially complex in effect. The group creates a genuinely safe environment in which ideas and work can be shared, and feedback is essential. Each writing day begins with a group discussion on a certain aspect of writing, which we term our “craft talk.” Vaughan and Tuite will read stories/poems/memoir pieces, as teaching examples, and deep conversations follow. Then we provide prompts each morning to fuel you to write into the deepest recesses of your being. Certain mornings we have group writing exercises to further the daily topic and offer you some new starts on fresh pieces.

Devonfield Inn is nothing but exceptional. Centrally located in the heart of the Berkshires, this historic 1800s bed & breakfast near Lenox, Massachusetts offers luxury with unmatched service and countryside, lovely views for every season. Relax and craft at the top-rated, inspiring Devonfield Inn set on 32-acres in Lee, MA, just minutes to Tanglewood and all the other cultural gems of the Berkshires.

More than anything, you will have plenty of time every day to WRITE! This is a generative writing week. You will have the opportunity and inspiration to explore the unique challenges that writers face in writing a new piece each day. The retreat is ideal for writers of all levels of experience, from previously published writers to novice writers who are ready to launch into new terrain, experiment, fail and try again!

This is also an excellent workshop for writers who long to return to a project, or are currently immersed in something. Give yourself the incredibly precious gift of a week to write and to embrace or discover your own potential in an expansive, gorgeous, historical setting in Lee, Massachusetts at the Devonfield Inn.