Click the + sign at right to see the details of each day. Print version coming soon.
Friday, July 17
11 am - 1 pm / Check-in
Location: Kilpatrick Lawn (rain: Clockhouse)
12 noon - 1 pm / Lunch
Location: Dining Hall
1:30 - 3 pm / Opening Community Meeting
Location: Kilpatrick Lawn (rain: Clockhouse)
Host: Jen McConnell, CWC Lead Steward (2001)
Welcome and intros to get to know each other and ground ourselves in our surroundings and plans for the week to come. We'll also talk about logistics and how our time together fits with the founding principles of the Clockhouse Writers' Conference & Retreat.
A simple definition of an artifact is an object made or used by humans. But what about non-material artifacts? Memories, thoughts, behaviors? Where and how do you unearth and use physical and non-physical artifacts? How do such artifacts help, or hinder, our writing? Our panelists will share their thoughts and invite us in for a discussion.
5:30 - 6:30 pm / Dinner
Location: Dining Hall
7 pm / CWC Readings
Location: Clockhouse
This is your opportunity to share your work, whether finished or in-progress, with an encouraging, supportive audience. Please sign up for one 10- or 15-minute reading slot during the week. A short comment/question period follows.
Saturday, JULY 18
8 - 9 am / Breakfast
Location: Dining Hall
9:30 - 11 am / Stations of the Word
Location: Garden at the top of the fountain stairs (rain: Clockhouse)
Presenter: Tricia Shepherd (2010)
Genre: All
It's appropriate we are back on campus again. What artifacts can we find of our past culture? How strong is your sense of place? Bring writing tools and enjoy a series of writing prompts to get ideas flowing in new and intriguing directions. It is a great way to begin your writing adventure; we will save some time at the end for those who want to share.
12 noon - 1 pm / Lunch
Location: Dining Hall
1:30 - 3 pm / Workshop
Title: Writing Hot & Slow
Location: Clockhouse
Presenter: Maureen Dunphy (1996)
Genre: All
POV: You have a tight writing deadline, or you don’t but are disgusted with your recent lack of progress, and vow to finish this story, this poem, this essay.
Now, imagine you’re solo on a three-hour flight. In a window seat, you have earbuds in your ears, with or without music playing. As the plane begins to taxi down the runway, you can feel “it”—something—rising. And as the plane lifts off, you dig into it. You are on it. And, when you land? You have it. You know it is good. More than good.
But even better than your piece is—was your process. Why can’t you do this at home?
All the time? You can.
Come to this workshop armed with the intent to practice how to get from here to there without checking in at an airport. Please also bring a blank spiral notebook and your favorite writing implement (not a laptop). We’re going to focus on four writing-practice cornerstones that can replace jet fuel every day, anytime, anywhere.
Hosts: Lucinda Garthwaite (1996) and David Waite (2006)
We'll enjoy a casual dinner at Lucinda and Shelly's nearby home. Afterwards, we'll celebrate the launch of Clockhouse Vol. 13 with select readings and something special from Editorial Director David Waite.
sunday, july 19
7 - 8 am / Greatwood Farm & Goddard Walking History Tour
Meet at: Outside the Community Center (main doors)
Rain or shine!
Tour guide: David Hale, former Goddard Archivist, Historian and Faculty
Join Goddard's now-volunteer historian and archivist for a morning walk across the familiar Creative Campus @ Goddard and hear the story of the Martin family who built the Greatwood farm, which became Goddard College in 1938.
8 - 9 am / Breakfast
Location: Dining Hall
9:30 - 10:15 am / Board of Stewards Meeting
Location: Clockhouse
Monthly meeting to discuss organizational topics. Feel free to bring anything you'd like addressed. All are welcome to attend; only BOS members may vote.
10:30 - 11:45 am / Future of CWC Discussion
Location: Clockhouse
Moderator: Lucy Turner (2000)
Hear the results of the recent "Future of CWC" survey and join in the ongoing discussion about our future.
12 noon - 1 pm / Lunch
Location: Dining Hall
1:30 - 3 pm / Workshop
Title: All the Voices in My Head
Location: Clockhouse
Presenter: Jen McConnell (2001)
Genre: Fiction
Why would an author use multiple narrators or POVs to tell a story and how does that impact how it is told, and whose story it is? Craft-wise, how is this down seamlessly? We'll read and discuss excerpts from "The Feast of Love" by Charles Baxter, "A Visit from the Good Squad" by Jennifer Egan, "Behold the Dreamers" by Imbolo Mbue, and "The Whalebone Theatre" by Joanna Quinn.
Looking for feedback on a poem(s) you're writing? Upload it to our shared folder or provide printed copies the day before and participants will share their ideas about how to make it stronger.
3:30 - 5 pm / Workshop
Title: Poetry Off the Page
Location: Clockhouse
Presenter: Ken Damerow (2005)
Genre: Poetry
Love it, hate it, confused, enraged. Whatever your passion, bring two poems: one you love and one you hate (any except your own). You'll read one or both and lead a discussion about its art, poetics, meaning, or lack thereof. Prepare a list of questions to guide the discussion.
Upload your poems to the shared folder so participants can gather their thoughts ahead of time. Join us for a talk of profane reverence to the art of what is the poetic enterprise.
Genre: Fiction, Creative Non-Fiction, Memoir, and more
Looking for feedback on a piece you're writing? Upload it to our shared folder or provide printed copies the day before (especially for longer pieces) and participants will share their ideas about how to make it stronger.
5:30 - 6:30 pm / Dinner
Location: Dining Hall
7 pm / CWC Readings
Location: Clockhouse
This is your opportunity to share your work, whether finished or in-progress, with an encouraging, supportive audience. Please sign up for one 10- or 15-minute reading slot during the week. A short comment/question period follows.
Genre: Fiction, Creative Non-Fiction, Memoir, and more
Looking for feedback on a piece you're writing? Upload it to our shared folder or provide printed copies the day before (especially for longer pieces) and participants will share their ideas about how to make it stronger.
12 noon - 1 pm / Lunch
Location: Dining Hall
1:30 - 3 pm / Workshop
Title: Using Letters as Inspiration for Writing
Location: Clockhouse
Presenter: Carolyn Locke (1996)
Genre: All
Do you have a collection of letters, cards, or maybe even emails stashed in a drawer, folder, file cabinet, or somewhere on your computer? Do you sometimes hear them calling to you, asking to be read and explored? Words from the past can surprise, startle, and teach us much about the people who wrote them and provide a rich source of inspiration for writing. They offer insights into the past, showing us where we and others have come from and how we came to be the people we are. They can even lead us on unexpected paths forward. But figuring out how to write from letters can be intimidating.
In this workshop, I will share my process of writing from the daily letters my parents wrote to each other from April 1938 to February 1939, which eventually resulted in Between: Ray and Eva 1938-1939. I will offer participants a chance to try their hand at the process using either letters brought from home or sample letters provided by me. All you need is pen, paper, and a curious mind.
A moderator will lead us through writing prompts but you can also bring your favorite ones to share with the group.
3:30 - 5 pm / Workshop
Title: Craft Shows the Way: Non-fiction Reveals Its Intention
Presenter: Lucinda Garthwaite (1996)
Location: Clockhouse
Genre: Poetry
The poet Marie How writers, "A poem occurs when it actually is an experience, not the record of an experience. It's when the writing itself brings me somewhere I never thought I would go, and there's a discovery in the writing."
As I took up non-fiction seriously in the last few years, I've been surprised at how like a poem, an essay, or even a book can begin this way, how often non-fiction insists on revealing itself, despite my initial intentions.
I know, it seems to say, you thought this was headed in that direction, but now that we're into it, let's go this other way. It's humbling. And I've been even more surprised that lyrical craft can lead to that reveal.
This workshop will explore how playing around with word choices and rhythm, form and repetition, even rhyme and alliteration can lead to discover in the process of writing non-fiction. Bring a piece of non-fiction in progreaa - a started or stuck on, or on that you think might benefit from a shakeup.
Looking for feedback on a poem(s) you're writing? Upload it to our shared folder or provide printed copies the day before and participants will share their ideas about how to make it stronger.
5:30 - 6:30 pm / Dinner
Location: Dining Hall
7 pm / CWC Readings
Location: Clockhouse
This is your opportunity to share your work, whether finished or in-progress, with an encouraging, supportive audience. Please sign up for one 10- or 15-minute reading slot during the week. A short comment/question period follows.
We'll revisit the founding principles, discuss and select a plenary panel for Summer 2027, discuss ideas for the Winter 2027 virtual conference, and other business.
