Tassajara Writing Retreat

For the next four days I'll be at Tassajara Zen Center in the Carmel Valley. There's a poetry workshop in progress, but my domestic partner and I will be doing "our own thing" (without computer/cell phone access), which will consist of sitting in water, sitting in sun (hopefully), reading, writing, and the normal (depending upon the range of your bell curve) things romantic partners do on vacation in a secluded, wilderness retreat environment.

There are no electrical outlets in our rooms, so I will either have to write with pen/paper, or pay $10/night to have my computer charged up in the office. In case that system fails, I printed out lots of beginnings of poems to flesh out, as well as some completed drafts to edit. I also brought books by favorite poets/authors to prime the pump: Michael Waters, Alicia Ostriker, Michael Ryan, Kim Addonizio, Dorianne Laux, Yusef Komunyakaa, Dawn McGuire--the latter, a new addition to the pantheon.

Mainly, I brought a new perspective, fueled by a fresh environment, 4 days of no responsibilities except to let my imagination rule--

I'll let you know how it went...