Reflecting on a Decade of Writing in Depth at Hope Springs Institute
by Maurice Stevens, PhD
10 Year Anniversary
June 11 - 14, 2020
For nearly a decade now, Hope Springs has hosted a writing retreat that has seen a variety of academic writers from all over the country nourish projects and rekindle passions for dissertations, articles, books, and more. And while the time people have spent in productive writing has delivered wonderful concrete outcomes like published manuscripts, completed degrees, promotions, and books in print, what people have harvested from their time at Hope Springs has gone beyond words on pages. Indeed, participants in this retreat have developed friendships and working relationships and they have done important inner work as well.
One reason this does not surprise us is that the Writing in Depth retreat structure, pacing, and workshops are all designed to create space for participants to be present with themselves and the deeper motivations that fuel their work. Sometimes these deeper forces have been forgotten or buried under the exigencies of university labor or the ‘bottom-line first!’ dynamics of higher education. Writing in Depth sets the stage for people to return to those deeper drives and to feel their intensity while also being in the process of writing.
Another reason it doesn’t surprise us to hear that people have transformative relational and individual experiences during Writing in Depth is that its structure and flow occur in a very special place. Hope Springs and the land from which it has sprouted is truly sacred and people can feel the power of that. Hope Springs, the land, and the life that teems there has no agenda of its own beyond being alive and vibrant. Without distraction or the imposition of other’s expectations, participants become more acutely aware of their own inner vibrancy, their own creativity, and a revitalized sense of possibility.
The time we spend creating together at Hope Springs is truly special in Writing in Depth. Come join us! Come reintroduce your projects to your passions and be reminded that they can exist together and that you can have both at the same time!
10 Year Anniversary
June 11 - 14, 2020
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