A Retreat into Writing

“This feels like a vacation, but I’m actually working,” said Danielle Carrabino, grinning as she opened her laptop. In the open room all around her, some 45 faculty and staff were settling down to work at linen-covered tables.

From her table, Carrabino had a wide-window view of the Mount Tom Range and a meadow humming with bees. Carrabino, curator of painting and sculpture at the Smith College Museum of Art, quickly got to work. This was the Kahn Liberal Arts Institute’s first writing retreat, held at the Red Barn at Hampshire College over three days in June, and she wasn't going to waste a minute.

Writing in uninterrupted blocks of 75 minutes, participants worked on projects such as book introductions, grant proposals, and conference talks, as well as novels and short stories. Retreat organizers Suzanne Gottschang, the Kahn’s director and professor of anthropology and East Asian studies, and Kathleen Pierce, assistant professor of art, organized the effort, “Summer Writing Retreat at the Red Barn,” after they both heard faculty and staff talking about needing space to focus on writing projects in the window between the end of the busy semester and summer vacations. 

Among those needing time and space to write were Gottschang and Pierce themselves, who are collaborating on an upcoming conference presentation. “To be able to show up and write, that would be magical,” said Pierce. 

Gottschang was able to draw upon some surplus funds from the Kahn’s budget to offer an external space with options for breakfast and lunch. A previous writing retreat experience gave Gottschang the idea for the 75-minute writing format. 

The retreat was deliberately geared at junior scholars, contingent faculty, and staff members who may not be able to take advantage of opportunities during the busy academic year. To keep the retreat inclusive, Gottschang and Pierce deliberately made the schedule flexible for participants. 

Kahn staff members Lauren Anderson and Christine Reynolds worked on coordinating the retreat, which Gottschang is hoping will eventually become an annual college-sponsored effort, particularly since this first attempt was so successful. 

“I haven’t seen people so happy in a long time,” said Gottschang. “I don’t think I’ve seen them smile so much. Everyone I ran into was saying this was the best thing.” 

The Red Barn space was bright and airy, with fairy lights strung around old wooden posts. To take advantage of the setting, attendees could also work on a tent-covered porch. 

Among those working on personal projects was Nancy Zigler, programs and partnerships director at the Jandon Center for Community Engagement, who has spent six years polishing a short story. During the retreat, she completed a new draft, progress she attributed to the retreat’s structure and quiet. 

“It’s the first time I ever felt included in something that would benefit my professional growth and personal growth,” she said. “I was scattered before I had time and space to think.” 

Carrabino also made progress during the retreat. She spent the time editing and rewriting a monograph on painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio’s time in Sicily, a project she’s been working on since completing her doctoral thesis in 2011. 

“I didn’t check my email this whole time,” Carrabino said. “I turned everything off.”