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.