“A poem is never finished, only abandoned” is W.H. Auden’s well-known paraphrase of Paul Valéry’s comment that “[a] poem is never finished; it’s always an accident that puts a stop to it—i.e. gives it to the public.” A poem is always in motion, ever evolving: from its inception to its rough draft, through its many revisions to its “finished” form.
Poetry allows us to express ourselves through a carefully chosen engagement of language and soundscape that creates powerful emotions, ones that can intoxicate readers and invite them to accompany the poet through a poem.
Retreat facilitator, KB Ballentine, will guide workshop participants from creating new poems to working on the craft of poetry to revising poems to their (publishable) best. Participants have the option of having a 10-15 minute one-on-one conversation with KB to ask questions. Also, every retreater is invited to send one finished poem for (gentle) critique, as long as the poem is received by the deadline.
Details:
- Place: Rockvale Writers’ Colony, 7020 Giles Hill Road, College Grove, TN 37046
- Time and Date: 4:00 p.m. Friday, September 19 to 11:00 am Sunday, September 21, 2025
- Cost: $435.00 PLUS TAX for a total of $494.82. A $250 non-refundable deposit is due upon registration. Balance of $244.82 is due by August 29, 2025. Once the balance is paid, it is not refundable.
- Includes: 2 nights in a private bedroom/bathroom suite, access to RWC common areas, gardens, and hiking trails, 5 meals with wine at dinner, 4 workshops, an optional one-on-one meeting with facilitator, critique of one finished poem, community with other writers.
The Schedule (tentative)
Friday, September 19, 2025:
4:00 to 6:00 p.m. – Check-in and settle in.
6:00 p.m. – Dinner
7:00 p.m. – Welcome and Overview of Retreat
7:15 p.m. – Workshop: Color Palette
Color stirs our emotions, impacts us psychologically, and helps us tell our stories. Let’s begin the weekend with a generative workshop based on color conversations. We’ll explore a playlist of color to create new work that sings with mood and atmosphere.
9:00 p.m. – Free Time / Bedtime
Saturday, September 20, 2025:
6:30 a.m. – Coffee Ready!
7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – Breakfast is available. Come anytime you’re ready.
8:30 a.m. – Workshop: Imitation Beyond Flattery
One of the oldest ways of learning, this generative session focuses on a variety of imitative styles. This is a valuable opportunity to explore and experiment with different techniques to broaden our work and nurture our own creative voices.
10:00 a.m. – Free Time for Writing
12:00 p.m. – Lunch
1:00 p.m. – Optional One-on-one Meetings with Facilitator. Sign up at Check-in.
6:00 p.m. – Dinner
7:00 p.m. – Workshop: Let’s Get Crafty
Now that we’ve had time to create new work, let’s look at specific/concrete words, imagery, verbs, and line breaks to tighten the words on the page. We’ll take this time to show off our language skills and understanding of the medium.
8:30 p.m. – Reading / Share your Writing – Sharing is optional; however, we ask that you attend whether you read or not, in order to support other writers.
10:00 p.m. – Free Time / Bedtime
Sunday, September 21, 2025:
6:30 a.m. – Coffee Ready!
7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – Breakfast is available. Come anytime you’re ready.
8:30 a.m. – Workshop: Alterations
What do we do when we look at a poem we’ve written but are still unhappy with? Bring two poems to this session that don’t feel quite finished and let’s look at possible ways to revise them to your liking.
10:00 a.m. – Free Time and Packing Up
11:00 a.m. – Checkout and Goodbye
Facilitator: KB Ballentine
KB Ballentine, winner of Poetry Society of Tennessee’s 2025 Best of the Fest and Writer’s Digest November 2024 PAD Chapbook Challenge, has nine collections of poetry, the most recent published with Sheila-Na-Gig: All the Way Through. Her work also appears in numerous anthologies including: Women Speak: Volume Ten, Writing the Land: Wanderings II, Tennessee Voices Anthology, Art of Chestnut Review: Volume One, and The Strategic Poet.
www.kbballentine.com