2007 Retreat for Committed Women Writers

What’s this, "What I have done with where I have been" all about? The 2007 theme was taken from Georgia O'Keeffe's autobiography, where she wrote, "Where I was born and where and how I have lived is unimportant. It is what have done with where I was been that should be of interest." Elisa Kay Sparks deepened our understanding of connections between Georgia O'Keeffe and Virginia Woolf for the keynote address. Both are fascinating women who broke new ground with their art. Women connected with AROHO continue to break new ground as well, and many have made art out of where they have been. The retreat faculty members have used experiences as diverse as flying surveillance planes during the Gulf War, researching Mary and Jezebel in the Middle East, communing with nature, and grieving for a lost son to create extraordinary literature.

So who was on the faculty? The AROHO Retreat Faculty included prize-winning authors, playwrights, and poets; an agent, an editor, a book reviewer, a professional reading coach, the founder of a literary press and a literary magazine; a mechanical engineer, an Italian teacher, the former president of her own construction company, a portrait photographer specializing in photos of native peoples in exotic places, a comic, a retired corporate executive, an anthropological and folkloric fieldworker, several artists, a major in the Air Force Reserves, two professional actresses, a printmaker, a psychologist, a translator, two librettists, a collector of Black Memorabilia, a reporter, an ex-nun, and a practicing Wiccan. Who says you can't write and have a life? And how many hats is she wearing? Check out the faculty bios.

Two ways to attend! We provided women with a new opportunity to participant in the retreat while having extra time to write as “Free Agents”. They had the unique opportunity to sign up for a special three-hour workshop with AROHO’s 2007 Guest Writer, Leslie Marmon Silko.

Sixteen committed women writers received scholarships helping to make their participation possible. During the nightly gatherings we encouraged each other to put a couple of dollars in the ducky for enjoying the refreshments and snacks. Ahh! It hit us! The Ducky Scholarships! There will be at least two scholarships. One will be awarded exclusively to a woman working in hospitality. The second Ducky Scholarship will be awarded to a woman who visited the A Room Of Her Own Foundation booth at the 2009 AWP Conference. Who would have thought a little duck would be the inspiration for new scholarships for the 2009 Retreat.

Pull The Lever!! During the retreat Lauren Baldwin wrote a poem called Pull the Lever! This poem inspires every woman to continue on their writing journey. The positive response to this poem was followed by an encore the next night. We would like to thank Lauren for her dedication to the AROHO community and for inspiring all of us at the 2007 Ghost Ranch Retreat.