Sanctuary Poets

We're looking forward to our retreat this fall.  Sanctuary is a weekend writing retreat that offers a welcoming and safe environment for individuals to learn more about poetry, be inspired by nature, and experience a safe, welcoming community with other like-minded individuals.   At the retreat, creatives will engage in writing instruction, exercises with visual art, and opportunities to be in nature. They also will learn how mental health and mindfulness are connected to writing.  The retreat will be at Riverwoods in St. Charles, Illinois. It is an 85-acre wooded campus on Fox River. Delicious home-cooked meals will be provided. Lodging is in cabins with bunk beds in shared rooms.   Complete this sign-up sheet if you are interested. Once you complete the sign-up sheet, we'll send the links to where you can pay for registration.  Costs:  $600 (all-inclusive: meals, lodging, retreat) $500 (meals and retreat) $400 (retreat) $75 (Friday day pass) $150 (Saturday or Sunday day pass

  Still away from the busyness of life by spending a weekend nurturing your creative self.   Sanctuary is a weekend writing retreat that offers a welcoming and safe environment for individuals to learn more about poetry, be inspired by nature, and experience a safe, welcoming community with other like-minded individuals.   At the retreat, creatives will engage in writing instruction, exercises with visual art, and opportunities to be in nature. They also will learn how mental health and mindfulness are connected to writing. This is not a retreat where every second is packed. Instead, a blend of scheduled activities and downtime will be available. This way you won’t return home exhausted. The retreat will be at Riverwoods in St. Charles, Illinois. It is an 85-acre wooded campus on Fox River. Delicious home-cooked meals will be provided. Lodging is in cabins with bunk beds in shared rooms.   Due to a generous grant from Elevating Equity, the retreat is offered at a subsidized rate.   To

 Seeing Yourself  Perhaps, the greatest person you will ever know is you.   Yet, getting to know one’s true self is often difficult. We often see ourselves accurately through the stained windows of trauma, low self-esteem, and grief. Art has a remedy for this complexity.   Self-portrait is one of the oldest art forms and is commonly used by visual artists to create a portrait of themselves. Other artists, such as poets, have adapted the art form.   Participating in introspection and seeing yourself accurately can lead to improved relationships, better self-confidence, and a healed vision of one’s self. Self-portraits can be an avenue for you to achieve these significant milestones.   Join, poet, Chasity Gunn, for a series of Self-Portrait workshops in February.   What you will experience: a welcoming, inspiring environment to read self-portrait poems by poets of various identities and poetic traditions engaging space to talk with other thinkers about their impressions of the poems gent

  Critical Response Process This process was created by Liz Lerman, a choreographer grapher, performer, writer, teacher and speaker. Here's how it works: Step 1: Statements of meaning Rationale : “…artists want to hear that what they have just completed has significance to another human being… It makes sense, then, that the first response artists hear should be one addressing the communicative power of the work just presented.” Artist reads her work and Readers give statements of meaning that answer any of the following questions: What was stimulating, surprising, evocative, memorable, touching,   compelling, unique or meaningful for you? What is your initial impression of the work? STEP 2: Artist as questioner This is the first of two rounds of questions. tHE ARTIST ASK QUESTIONS TO THE COMMUNITY. THE TYPES OF QUESTIONS ASKED WILL VARY ON based on where the artist is in the writing process and the type of feedback the artist is looking for.   Examples:   Were there any parts of th

 Anaphora  Anaphora is the repetition of a phrase or clause at the beginning of a sentence or, in a poetic context, the beginning of a line. It can create a sense of rhythm or a strong sense of emotion. A song-like nature can be created with anaphora. It is a device that can emphasize a message, a moment, a memory, or an image. Anaphora can be a literary device that provides structure to an unruly or difficult topic. It can give a speaker of a poem language about a topic that might otherwise be difficult to grasp. Lastly, anaphora can become a type of litany poem. It is considered a rhetorical device. And, like any device, infinite possibilities exist for how it can be used. You are probably familiar with Dr. Martin Luther King's speech, "I Have a Dream." Do you know it contains an anaphora? Multiple times throughout the speech, he begins his sentences with: "I have a dream that." You can check out a transcript of his speech here and note how he uses anaphora. 

           Sanctuary Poets is a part of the 2021 Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellows program. It provided $1.1 million to poet laureates over the country to do civic projects in their communities.      Chasity Gunn, Elgin Poet Laureate, is a recipient of the fellowship. She will lead Sanctuary Poets.      Check out AAP's press release about the fellowship here.