Writers gather during the quieter seasons at Bird and Tree Studios on the beautiful Pemaquid Peninsula in midcoast Maine, where we generate new writing and share our work fresh from the page in a supportive circle. 

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Our schedule is structured around a series of five Gateless Writing Salons and shared meals. Each salon allows writers ample time to generate new poems and stories with a warm-up, writing without the brakes on, and through longer writing sessions, alone, but among others. Writers are offered portals and prompts, but are free to write whatever topic they choose in whatever genre. We share our work and receive purely positive support.

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Some salons involve journey mapping and image-making. We might engage in guided and walking meditations, tactile and visual art activities, and/or an acclimatization activity in nature. All activities are designed for all levels of experience. 

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Over meals, we discuss strategies for practicing self-care as creatives, how to create and protect creative time, how to approach revision and publication, and whatever topics are alive at the moment. Late afternoons allow time for relaxation, to talk with others, and to avail writers of our many local treasures.

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We recommend that participants who come from afar tack on a day or two for extra time spent in further exploration of our treasured landscape.

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