A Week Away at a Writing Retreat in the Pacific Northwest – with Foxes!

Lighthouse on San Juan Island, Cattle Point

Need to Get Away? To a Writer’s Retreat?

Some writers go to writer’s residencies and retreats frequently. I am not one of those writers. I haven’t been to a writer’s residency in six years. The last time I went, I was working on the manuscript that became Field Guide to the End of the World. I’m coming to this residency to write poems, yes, and send out poems, yes, but also to wrangle three (!) unruly poetry manuscripts that need to get out into the world. This takes more time and concentration than I usually can muster at home. I just finished a first last week – my first ever Virtual Breadloaf (TM) and now I’m taking time to be a writer at a retreat for a whole week!

So what to do? Well, you pack up, get in a car and drive for an hour and a half, then sit in parking lot for the ferry for another hour, then ride the ferry over for an hour, and then, bam! You’re there! Your little cabin in the middle of a university’s marine biology lab center on San Juan Island is ready and waiting to be aired-out and re-cleaned (covid days, of course) and then safely entered into. The skies are blue. The ocean is literally steps away. You can hear crickets. There’s no television. And though many young marine biologists and other scholars crowd the grounds you barely even see any of them except in a distance. You literally interact with no one except a friendly biologist who points you in the direction of the cabin key on arrival.

Typewriter in tree, with ocean

What Makes the Perfect Writer’s Retreat for You?

What each writer needs is different, and when you’re me, boy, you are asking for a handful. Some residencies cook for you and cost no money. Some have nominal fees and/or tough entry applications. There might be one near you that might be a perfect fit. I’m disabled, so that counts out most writer’s residencies across the United States, including some of the most prestigious, I’m sorry to say. And I have food allergies. And I need to be able to drive to it, because, well, right now, immune-compromised and covid. So even though it might not be perfect for everyone, Whiteley Center on San Juan Island – a residency open to scientists and artists alike with its one handicapped-accessible cabin and gorgeous and interesting marine surroundings – ended up being my perfect writer’s retreat. So far, I’ve drafted five new poems, sent out three submissions, edited one of three books and started on another. The internet and cell signals are not robust but enough to get my work done most days. It’s quiet, private, feels fairly safe, and gazes out through big picture windows at trees and ocean. I have a laptop I bring from the reading nook to the kitchen table to the bedroom, along with the stack of reading material I brought for diversion and inspiration. (My husband, importantly, is able to accompany me to be my disability assistant – which is not the case with most residencies. Because lugging trash out 500 feet or laundry a half a mile is tough for disabled folks to do alone. Plus he’s good company and a good cook.)

Red Fox, at South Beach

Plus, I’ve visited Lime Kiln Point, famous for whale-sightings (though not right now – our Orcas seem to be elsewhere these days), American Camp, famous for its foxes (those did not let me down) and quaint Friday Harbor, which, in non-covid times, would be very attractive for its cute restaurants, shops, and galleries. (I’ve only ventured into the co-op for groceries and the drug store for, well, drugs. Because, again, covid.) And I’ve even had a repeat fox visitor here at my very own cabin! This is on top of eagle and heron sightings, seals, and I hope before the end of the trip, otters.  If you bring a car with you – which I’d recommend if you’re disabled, because getting to everything is quite a trek if you’re in a wheelchair, on crutches, or a cane – you can even find the farmer’s market (check) and farms like the lavender farm and alpaca farm. Are all of these things requirements for a good writer’s retreat? No. But might they help inspire you, and even better, make you feel for a little while like you’re in the wild and can really breathe again? You do not have to wear the right clothes or even put on makeup (but maybe a little sunscreen and bug repellent.) It’s so dark and quiet that even I, notorious night owl that I am, have trouble not falling asleep by 11:30 PM.

Sunflowers on the Island

Finding Beauty, Finding Time

And usually I’m an extrovert who loves 1. her routines and 2. infinite forms of diversion so this forces me to rest, focus, and generally regain my sense of wonder and respect for the universe. This last few years have been so stressful, I admit I had lost a sense of how beautiful some parts of the world truly are, and how awe-inspiring mountains and oceans or even just an encounter with a fox can be. I believe this to be good not just for my writing but my soul. When I go home I’ll remember that a place like San Juan Island exists again, which sometimes, when you’re holed up in your house for quarantine for eighteen months, can be a little hard to believe. Magical.

Oh yes, and being away from the television, and social media (unreliable internet again) and all that is probably also good for my brain and soul. It is very hard for me to do an electronics fast at my house – here, I barely notice it. Some writers are able to take a month off from job or family responsibilities – for me, a week or two seems like more than enough time away to get some actual work done – and I mean reading, writing, and even filling out a form or two. (Hate forms!)

My cabin visiting fox friend

And whether or not a residency looks good on your CV or is required for finishing a book, it is certainly something for writers (even writers who think they can’t because of money or kids or disability) to think about. There may be a perfect residency out there for you that affords you exactly the time, space, and awe-inspiring wonder to help you through a difficult creative time. And don’t forget the foxes!