Strange Fire Writing Retreats

“I come to you with strange fire…
I make an offering of love.”

—The Indigo Girls

You are invited into this circle where all you need is pen, paper, an open heart and a beginner’s mind.

Nothing to prepare, nothing to prove. You’ll be guided the whole way.

You write what you know, what comes through purely, with your inner critic at least temporarily out of the way.

Your work is then celebrated by the group, who greet it with unconditional welcome, kindness, and the kind of reverence worthy of this newly arrived thing - pure, perfect, and stunning.

This is a message
A message of love
Love that moves from the inside out
Love that never grows tired

What makes this so … strange?

Where else in the world does this happen? Apart from delivery rooms—and not even always then. The miracle of new life, of something created through a human body from a mysterious place…

The incense of my soil is burned
By the fire in my blood

That’s what we’re doing. Birthing what is true for us and inviting witnesses be in awe of it. Eventually, perhaps, coming around to marvel at our own creation.

Writing is merely the medium by which this all happens. And some incredible pieces are created in this process … often complete and publishable on the first try.

When you learn to love yourself
You will dissolve all the stones that are cast
Now you will learn to burn the icing sky
To melt the waxen mask

I said to have the gift of true release
This is a peace that will take you higher
Oh I come to you with my offering
I bring you strange fire

You don’t have to be a ‘writer’ already!

No matter what kind of writer you think you are (including not a writer at all), no matter if you’ve only ever written emails, no matter what language you are most comfortable speaking and writing in, your voice has a place in this session. We look forward to hearing it.

After a brief arrival and orientation, we will write 2-3 short pieces based on prompts, read our work, and have the opportunity to give one another sincere appreciation. It is amazing how deep the writing can go—and how quickly—in this kind of holding community.

We are here to practice, not produce. That said, many fully finished pieces are born of this process.