In Short, Excellent

Last night was excellent! My writing colleagues and I had a nice dinner, as all of our dinners here have been, and then we spent several hours chatting among ourselves and reading our work aloud. An addition at and after dinner was a writer who arrived night before last. Her presence added considerably to the experience. The writer, Nadine Pinede (Google her for details) shared some of her work with us and gave us welcome feedback on ours. Her personal history, a significant element of which corresponds with the book she is working on while here, is both fascinating and illuminating.

It was not just her work that enlivened the evening; it was the sharing of our own work, too, and the conversations surrounding our readings that was invaluable.

I can say without reservation that last night’s conversations, alone, would have made the trip to Dairy Hollow worthwhile. When coupled with my experiences of the last several days, I cannot imagine that the short residency here could have been better.

The only down side to the last full day of our residency retreat was that two of our group left early and unexpectedly this morning because one of them became ill. I hope she is better.

What a tremendous way to end a week of writing and reflecting on writing. I’m energized by this experience.

 

About John Swinburn

"Love not what you are but what you may become."― Miguel de Cervantes
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One Response to In Short, Excellent

  1. jserolf says:

    Yeah, I looked her up, Big John. Interesting……

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