Salt Lines Poetry Retreat

Georgetown Island, Maine

October 6-8, 2026

 

Born of her belief that gathering with other poets isn't just enjoyable—it's essential—Holly Wren Spaulding hosts this early Autumn retreat at Grey Havens Inn on the wild coast of midcoast Maine.

Together, we'll remember why we write and why we need each other. We'll rediscover how it feels to listen without hurrying, write what feels true, and speak with the courage of our convictions. 

We'll enjoy generous meals around a beautifully laid table, prepared by the award winning chef of Blu Restaurant. We'll walk the shoreline where fresh water meets salt water. We'll write our salt lines. We'll affirm the importance of what we do when we are together, making lives and work that reflect our full humanness.

Creativity as necessity.

Community as tonic. Poetry is what brings us together.

 

  • We'll write, inspired by the liminal space where salt water meets the edge of the continent

  • We'll share our work in a supportive circle of Poetry Forge friends

  • We'll engage in life-sustaining conversations about our work in progress, and the realities that surround our commitments to a creative life

  • We'll find inspiration in the coastal landscape, fresh air, dark night skies, and plant poetics

  • We'll listen, and speak, and laugh together

  • We'll curate our best lines—and look forward to seeing them transformed into letterpress poetry postcards by a skilled artisan

 

Proposed Schedule

The vision for this gathering is spacious, generous, and calm. We will savor and go slow. We will enjoy doing what we love to do. We will be together: talking, laughing, writing, and considering what it means to be poets at this time in human history. Time will bend and the days will be ours.

 

Monday, October 5

Optional early arrival at the inn. Take it slow, explore local trails, and work independently before the retreat begins on Tuesday. This is optional but why not?

 

Tuesday, October 6

Check-in at the inn is 3 pm. Settle into your room and then let Holly help you create a bouquet for your nightstand. Connect with friends on the porch or in the library. We'll share a welcome meal in the restaurant once every is present, followed by a short writing session before we retire early.

 

Wednesday, October 7

Workshop begins after a generous continental breakfast, which us followed by lunch, and an optional outing to enjoy a local beach and park. Some may prefer to write in their room. Our meal is followed by optional reading from work in progress.

 

Thursday, July 12

Join Holly for early morning writing on the porch, followed by breakfast. Check-out is 11 am.

 

This outline is meant to give you a sense of the flow of the days, including opportunities for you to do your own thing, while also preserving some of the magic and mystery of this special gathering. Changes are bound to be made as we get closer to our retreat dates.

 

Further practical details about this retreat may be found here.

Join Us

Early registration is open to members of the Casual Union of Working Poets.

 

If spaces remain, they will be released to the public in late February 2026.

Register for the Retreat

"It served ME well! Please DO consider doing this again. It was really a wonderful gathering, and I loved the built-in spaciousness as well as the together time."

—Lori L., Poetry Forge Mini-Residency 2024

 

“It is a gift to be with people in community, while at the same time, being alone. . . . I felt very held and grounded and connected to something bigger than all of us.”

—Ashley M., Blue Shore Writers Retreat, 2024

 

"It’s hard to express how much I loved being at this residency. Thank you for being the person to dream it up and put it on."

—Charlotte W., Poetry Forge Mini-Residency, 2024

 

 

Salt Lines Poetry Retreat--Georgetown Island

A poetry retreat with Holly Wren Spaulding in midcoast Maine.

$1,300.00 USD