375 Panterkill Road PO Box 70 Phoenicia, NY 12464 United States
July 10 - 12, 2026
About this Retreat
Christian McEwen is a freelance writer and workshop leader, originally from the UK. She is the author of several books, including
World Enough & Time: On Creativity and Slowing Down, now in its second edition. Her articles have appeared in
The Nation, The Village Voice, The American Scholar, and
Lion’s Roar, and she has edited several anthologies, including
Jo’s Girls: Tomboy Tales of High Adventure; The Alphabet of the Trees: A Guide to Nature Writing; and
Sparks from the Anvil: the Smith College Poetry Interviews. Christian has enjoyed residencies at Yaddo, MacDowell, Mesa Refuge and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and has received a fellowship in playwriting from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Her newest book is
In Praise of Listening: A Gathering of Stories, which also exists in an audio edition.
www.christianmcewen.com
Details of this retreat
"Many an old story begins with the words, 'Long ago, when animals could speak...' Perhaps the corollary would be just as good an opening... 'Long ago, when people could listen.'"
- Lyanda Lynn Haupt
The word “listen” derives from the Old English hylsnan which means, quite simply, “to pay attention.” But in recent years such generous, expansive listening has been increasingly under siege. Our eyes are seduced by our dazzling screens; our ears plugged up with plastic buds. We listen to podcasts at the gym; to audiobooks while driving; to guided meditation apps as we try to soothe ourselves to sleep. Little by little, we risk losing our ability to listen deeply to one another and the natural world, and even to ourselves.
“Slow down a moment! Stop and listen!”
When we take the time to listen, not only with our ears, but with the fullness of our heart and mind and spirit, it becomes possible to recover the curious children we once were: lively and engaged. Christian McEwen is the author of In Praise of Listening: A Gathering of Stories (Bauhan Publishing, 2023). For years now, she has been leading workshops with a focus on just such dedicated listening.
Over the course of the weekend, we will explore the act of listening in a variety of ways, reclaiming that very ordinary joy, learning to braid it into each detail of our daily lives.
We will start by recalling childhood memories of sound, refining them further through both words and images. We will also practice deep listening (“hearing one another into speech”) and take the time to attend to natural sounds, going for a mediative “sound walk,” and listening to silence. There will also be the opportunity to enjoy the gorgeous acres of the Menla campus, both alone and in company, pausing at intervals to listen to the land, and returning home with a nourishing acoustic gift.
Schedule:
Friday, July 10
3 - 6 pm Arrival and Check-in
6 - 7 pm Dinner
7:30 - 9 pm A brief introduction to In Praise of Listening - A reading from the book, followed by Q & A
Assignment: begin to remember childhood memories of sound
Saturday, July 11
8 - 9 am Breakfast
9:30 am - 12 pm Morning Program
session one: human forms of listening
12:30 - 130 pm Lunch
2 - 5:30 pm Afternoon Program - Session two: listening to the non-human world
6 - 7 pm Dinner
7:30 - 9 pm Evening Program - Session three: sounds that exist and do not exist, comfort and do not comfort
Sunday, July 12
7 - 11 am Check out of Rooms
8 - 9 am Breakfast
9:30 am - 12 pm Morning Program - Session four: silence as an experience of merging inner and outer
12:30 - 1:30 pm Lunch and Departure
*Please note this schedule is subject to change.
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