Friday, October 7, 2011

26th Annual Great Books Poetry Weekend


November 5-6, 2011

In the Lodge
Yes, it is time for Poetry Weekend, held each year at Westminster Retreat in Alamo.  To me, this is the most relaxing and enjoyable of our weekend retreats and they serve the best food as well. The grounds are lush and green.  There is a lovely hiking trail on the hill behind the Lodge.  

Don't wait to register (information below)  because we have limited room and the registration deadline is October 17, 2011.

Fall Colors
I seldom have any idea what any of the poetry means until I get into the discussions, but I think that is why I enjoy this event as much as I do and preparation is a breeze.  Here are this year’s poetry selections:




Saturday AM Session: Varieties of Love
   
      Theodore Roethke           A Walk in Late Summer
      Yehuda Amichai              David, King of Israel…
      Yehuda Amichai              My Parents’ Lodging Place
      Cynthia Zarin                  Late Poem
      John Donne                    A Valediction of Weeping
      John Haines                    A Winter Light
The Carriage House Lodge
Saturday PM Session: Celtic Interlude

      Paul Muldoon                When the Pie Was Opened
      William Butler Yeats       Under Ben Bulben
      Nuala Ni Dhomnaill         The Ebony Adonis
      Robert Burns                 To a Mouse
      Eavan Boland                What Language Did
      Seamus Heaney            The Other Side

Saturday evening entertainment

      A program of humorous poetry to be performed by the 
      Westminster Poetry Players (that’s us).

Sunday AM Session: Potpourri

      Wiliam Carlos Williams      The Descent    
      Maxine Kumin                  The Longing to be Saved
      Jack Gilbert                     Waiting and Finding
      James K. Baxter              Poem in the Matukituki Valley
      Ted Hughes                     Hawk Roosting              
      Theodore Weiss               Autobiographia Illiteraria


Sunroom in the Lodge
Fee:  The registration fee has been stable for the last two years; regrettably, we have had to raise the fees this year.  The fee for those staying overnight will be $169; the fee for those not staying overnight will be $129.  We regret this necessary increase, but hope it will not discourage your attendance at this wonderful event.  Registrar:  Theda & Oscar Firschein at 650-854-3980 or oscarf1@earthlink.net.  If no response call Brent Browning at 408-353-6340.
Manor Patio
For a printable registration form with more information click here or go to our website for more information and a downloadable registration form.


Please join us for a fun and relaxing weekend of poetry and stimulating discussions.