Barred Owl Retreat, Leicester, Massachusetts | March 23, 2019 
The Colrain One-Day Informational Retreat is designed for poets who wish to learn the basics of a poetry manuscript before submitting to presses and/or applying to the Colrain Poetry Manuscript Conference. In a small group (8-10 poets) team-led by two seasoned Colrain Poetry Manuscript facilitators, you will explore questions that include the following:
1. What is a poetry manuscript?
2. Do I have enough poems for a full-length manuscript?
3. What about a chapbook? What are the pros and cons of each?
4. Is a Cover Letter necessary? How do I write it?
5. How is a Table of Contents assembled?
6. What is an Acknowledgements page and how is it assembled?
7. What are End Notes and do I need them?
8. What is a Prologue Poem or Proem, and do I need one?
9. What is a “project” book and would my manuscript fit this category? We will also discuss the where, why and how of submitting to presses.
In short, the Colrain One-Day Retreat will provide you with the information you need to assemble and submit your manuscript. The retreat will be led as a team by seasoned Colrain editors and poets Joan Houlihan and Fred Marchant.
Joan Houlihan is the author of five books of poetry, most recently Shadow-feast (Four Way Books). Her other books are: The Us, named a “must-read” book of 2009 by Massachusetts Center for the Book, Ay, a sequel to The Us (both from Tupelo Press), The Mending Worm, winner of the Green Rose Award from New Issues Press, and Hand-Held Executions: Poems & Essays. In addition to publishing in a wide array of leading journals, including Poetry, Boston Review, Harvard Review, Gulf Coast, and most recently, Plume, Massachusetts Review and Ocean State Review, she has served as consulting editor and reviewer at a series of online magazines, most recently, Contemporary Poetry Review, and as Associate Editor at Tupelo Quarterly. Her critical essays are archived online at bostoncomment.com. Her work has been anthologized in The Iowa Anthology of New American Poetries (University of Iowa Press) and The Book of Irish-American Poetry–Eighteenth Century to Present (University of Notre Dame Press). She has served as judge for numerous poetry awards and contests including the Louise Bogan Prize for Poetry (Trio House Press), the Jane Kenyon Award for Poetry (New Hampshire Literary Awards), and Massachusetts Center for the Book Award, among others. She has taught at Columbia University, Emerson College and Smith College and currently serves on the faculty of Lesley University’s Low-Residency MFA in Creative Writing Program in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She is also Professor of Practice in Poetry at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. Houlihan founded and directs the Colrain Poetry Manuscript Conference.
Fred Marchant’s new collection of poetry, Said Not Said, is available from Graywolf Press. The Looking House (Graywolf Press, 2009), was named by Barnes and Noble Review as one of the five best books of poetry in 2009. He is also the author of Tipping Point, winner of the 1993 Washington Prize in poetry, and Full Moon Boat (Graywolf Press, 2000). A new and selected volume, House on Water, House in Air, was published by Dedalus Press, Dublin, Ireland, in 2002. He was the 2009 co-winner (with Afaa Michael Weaver) of the May Sarton Award from the New England Poetry Club, given to poets whose “work is an inspiration to other poets.” Fred Marchant is also the co-translator (with Nguyen Ba Chung) of From a Corner of My Yard, by Tran Dang Khoa, and Con Dau Prison Songs by Vo Que, both published in Hanoi. He is also editor of Another World Instead: The Early Poems of William Stafford, 1937-1947 (Graywolf Press, 2008). His most recent work has appeared in such journals as AGNI, Barrow Street, Harvard Review, Field, Ocean State Review, Plume, and Solstice, among others. Emeritus Professor of English and Founding Director of The Suffolk University Poetry Center in Boston, he is a longtime teaching affiliate of The William Joiner Institute for the Study of War and Social Consequences at the University of Massachusetts-Boston and teaches poetry workshops at various places across the country, including the Veterans Writing Group in the San Francisco Bay area, the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, MA, and the Hudson Valley Writers’ Center. Fred has been a teaching faculty member in the Colrain Poetry Manuscript Conference ever since its beginnings in 2006. Where and When: The retreat will be held on Saturday, March 23 at the beautiful Barred Owl Retreat, a 15-room, 1920‘s colonial home located just outside the city of Worcester, Massachusetts, in the town of Leicester. The retreat’s lovingly landscaped acreage hosts an orchard, a brook, two ponds and an abundance of wildlife including herons, beavers, otters, deer, and of course, barred owls. The property abuts a secluded 114-acre nature preserve so on the grounds one might feel away from it all, yet Barred Owl Retreat is just four miles from downtown Worcester. Schedule: The day proceeds as follows:
- On Saturday, March 23, at 9:00 am participants will arrive at the Barred Owl Retreat for light breakfast, introductions and an overview of the day.
- The workshop begins at 9:30. Focus is on exploring the basics of the poetry manuscript. Leaders will also provide guidance on the mechanics of submitting poems to various venues and answer participants’ questions. Discussion continues until 5:00 pm with a break for lunch and snacks.
The workshop officially ends on Saturday at 5 pm. 
Participants are invited to dine with Joan Houlihan and Fred Marchant post-workshop at the nearby Red Maple Inn restaurant if desired. Note: Please let us know if you’d like to come so we can make a reservation for the right number.
Cost and Application: The conference cost is $475 which includes tuition, breakfast, lunch, snacks, and all day coffee & tea.
Apply: To apply, please email the following information: Your name, address and phone number, brief bio, and reason for interest in the retreat to: conferences@colrainpoetry.com Upon acceptance, you will be sent registration/payment instructions.
Accommodations Nearby accommodations are available starting at $50 per night. You will need to contact them and make arrangements. Some suggestions below:
The Heartwell House. 2.4 miles from Barred Owl A big, gorgeous house also used for yoga and meditation retreats. 6 rooms available, some double. Very reasonable and highest rating through airbnb. https://www.airbnb.
The Red Maple Inn in Spencer. 7 miles from Barred Owl. This is a lovely inn with indoor and outdoor sitting areas. It is pricey but they have two rooms that could be shared to cut down on the cost. One is the suite which has two separate bedrooms, one with twin beds one with a queen and they share a bath in between. They also have The Cottage room that is attached to the house that has two somewhat separate sleeping areas and a kitchen. Mention that you are attending the Barred Owl Writer’s retreat and they will take 10% off. A large breakfast at the time you request is included (though you will also have a continental breakfast served at the Barred Owl). www.theredmapleinn.com
Courtyard Marriott: Downtown Worcester 4-5 miles from Barred Owl. Near art museum and dining. Ask for the Clark University rate or the AAA discount. Rooms $115-$129.00. Phone: 508-363-0300
Spenser Country Inn. 5.5 miles from Barred Owl. They have three rooms in the main Inn for $65.00/night. The yellow room is large with 2 single beds and could easily be shared. http://spencercountryinn.com/ NOTE: They also have 6 rooms in an adjacent building for $55.00 night, but the quality is lesser. We recommend asking for rooms in the main Inn for $65.00/night.
How to Get Here: Barred Owl is located at 88 Marshall Street, Leicester, MA, only 20 minutes from downtown Worcester and 15 minutes from the Worcester Regional Airport (Flights at the Worcester Airport are limited to Jet Blue airlines only. Logan Airport in Boston is 40 minutes away if necessary for your flight plans). Amtrak and buses arrive in Worcester where you can easily take a taxi or Uber to the retreat.
Refund Policy: Refund up to 4 weeks prior, less 15% processing fee. Colrain Conferences reserves the right to cancel this conference without penalty, liability limited to a full refund of registration fees.
