JODI PALONI

Maine Coast Writers Retreats offer experiences in inspiration, creativity, and writing craft set against the backdrop of spruce wood magic and the spaciousness of sky and sea. We gather during the quieter seasons on the renown Pemaquid Peninsula. 

 

Supported by a flow of kindness and craft in a series of six Gateless Writing Salons, we generate new writing and read our work fresh from the page, though sharing is always optional. Feedback loops are purely appreciative, honoring the genius in the work. All levels of experiences are welcome. 

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Delicious meals sourced as locally and organically as possible are shared together. Embodied practices might include Journey Mapping, Walking Meditations, Moments in Nature Sensory Attunements, Mixed Media Collage, Breath Work, Gentle Yoga, and/or TaiChi/Qigong. We collaborate with a number of healing practitioners. Free time is scheduled in. You can read and rusticate on your own, walk or hike or shop with others, look for sea glass, explore the treasures the Pemaquid Peninsula has to offer. We can't think of a better place to drum up the muses than on the magical coast of Maine.

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A typical retreat schedule is as follows...

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Thursday: 5:00  Arrival

                 6:00  Dinner

                 7:00  Evening Writing Salon

 

Friday:     8:00  Breakfast 

                9:00   Embodied Practice and Writing Salon

               12:00  Lunch

                1:00   Writing Salon (in Nature)

                4:00   Free Time

                6:00   Dinner

                7:00   Evening Writing Salon

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Saturday:  8:00   Breakfast 

                 9:00   Embodied Practice and Writing Salon

               12:00   Lunch

                 1:00   Adventure in Word and Image Salon

                 4:00   Free Time

                 6:00   Dinner

                 7:00   Reading

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Sunday:    8:00   Breakfast (Q and A)

                 9:00   Short and Sweet Salon and Closing Circle

               11:00   Check-Out

              

   

Coming soon...      

 

By Land and By Sea, October 7-10, 2021 

Three days and three nights of Gateless Writing Salons in response to Moments of Nature on the beautiful Pemaquid Peninsula. Walk to the water's edge to find inspiration in the stillness or ripples and waves. This workshop will include special outings and more than one bountiful feast. 

 

Price includes accommodations for three nights and three days at the beautiful Chamberlain House in round Pond, Maine.

($895 for private room/bath, $795 for private room/shared bath), all meals locally sourced whenever possible, seven salons, and materials. A reading and pop-up shop will be held Saturday night, a chance to share work that you bring. We reserve four spots for commuters at $495. Commuter spots are great for local writers and for travelers who wish to secure lodgings on their own. 

 

Full tuition is due upon registration. Refunds will be given in the event we need to cancel due to (Goodness, forbid!) surges in Covid-19.   To learn more, email jodipaloni@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your Facilitator

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Jodi Paloni brings passion, unrelenting curiosity, and a variety of interests to the facilitation of her retreats that include writing, great food, art-making, and connection to the natural world. A career educator for over thirty-years, Jodi is a graduate of the ICF Certified Gestalt Coaching Certification Program, specializing in creativity and transitions. She is certified in the Gateless Writing Method and Sequencing: Making is Knowing. She holds an MFA in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts and an MS in Environmental Studies from Antioch New England Graduate School. 

 

They Could Live With Themselves, runner-up in the Press 53 Award for Short Fiction is Jodi's collection of linked stories set in the fictional New England town of Stark Run. She's an IPPY Silver Medalist and a three-time finalist for the Maine Literary Awards. She has been a Kenyon Review Summer Writers' Workshop Peter Taylor Fellow and an AWP Writer to Writer Mentor. Jodi has received support from the 2019 Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance fellowship at Monson Arts and the 2018 literary arts residency at the Joseph A. Fiore Art Center. Her writing has appeared in Decor Maine, Art New England, and in a number of literary journals and magazines. Her short stories are anthologized in Short Story America, North by Northeast I and II. She leads weekly salons and daily workshops in person and on-line in addition to retreats.

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Testimonials

 

"My creativity blossomed under Jodi’s masterful facilitation. Her positive feedback, along with that of the other participants, continues to encourage me to keep writing."

                  ~Jane Honeck, accountant, financial coach, author of The Problem With Money

 

"Jodi Paloni is a gifted facilitator—generous, humorous, and gentle."  

                  ~ Mary Lou Bagley, artist, actress, author of the novel Otherwise

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"I feel so very blessed to have spent the days with such an amazing group of writing women!"

                  ~ Kathy Pell, teacher, service coordinator, author of "Flying South" (Gemini Magazine)

 

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Photos by Kristin Dillon at Blue Horse Photography

and Jodi Paloni

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