MY HEART
4th July 2026
Here we are, on the 250th birthday of these disunited states. The flags, the fireworks, the patriotism (real and forced), can make it challenging to find one’s footing as a writer, let alone all those eager gatherings of family and friends. A line or two from Frank O’Hara or the contemporary poet Jenny George can help us come to ground. Bare feet, a fresh workshirt, an open heart, and
One day the old life simply sheds
its dress and …
… the future wavers up in you…
May it be so.
“My Heart” by Frank O’Hara (1926-1966)
I’m not going to cry all the time
nor shall I laugh all the time,
I don't prefer one "strain" to another.
I'd have the immediacy of a bad movie,
not just a sleeper, but also the big,
overproduced first-run kind. I want to be
at least as alive as the vulgar. And if
some aficionado of my mess says "That's
not like Frank!," all to the good! I
don't wear brown and grey suits all the time,
do I? No. I wear workshirts to the opera,
often. I want my feet to be bare,
I want my face to be shaven, and my heart—
you can't plan on the heart, but
the better part of it, my poetry, is open.
“The Artist” by Jenny George
A snake lies in the open, dormant
in its sleeve of heat. A gilded orphan
on the sun-warmed dirt, eye-slits ajar,
waiting for the infinite to arrive.
You want to strike it with a stick.
You want an answer to the prayer
that says, Make use of me.
One day the old life simply sheds
its dress and flows through the stones.
Then the future wavers up in you
and stands in your throat like a flame.
Write about your own journey as a writer or an artist—something that honors your own curiosity and contradictions. Or choose a moment when the old life fell away, and a beautiful new future wavered up in you.
Join Christian at Menla July 10-12!
In Praise of Listening
with Christian McEwen
July 10–12, 2026
We spend much of modern life consuming information while giving very little sustained attention to what is around us.
This July, author and educator Christian McEwen comes to Menla for a weekend retreat exploring listening as a creative, relational, and deeply human practice.
Drawing from themes in her book In Praise of Listening: A Gathering of Stories, Christian will guide participants through a series of practices centered on observation, memory, conversation, writing, sound, silence, and time in the natural world.
Over the course of the weekend, participants will engage in:
reflective writing and drawing exercises
guided conversation and deep listening practices
meditative sound walks through Menla’s grounds
quiet observation of the natural environment
shared readings and discussion
Rather than focusing on productivity or performance, the retreat creates space to strengthen attention, perception, and presence — capacities that many people feel are increasingly fragmented by contemporary life.
Christian McEwen has spent decades teaching and writing about creativity, solitude, attention, and the inner life. Her workshops are known for being intellectually rich, grounded, and highly participatory, welcoming writers, artists, educators, and curious observers alike.
Set within the mountains and forests of Menla Retreat Center, this weekend offers an opportunity to step into a different rhythm: one shaped by conversation, reflection, listening, and direct experience.
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