Writing In Thin Places with Carol Lea Clark – G230446
Ever been to a place that feels like sacred ground, where you feel blissful, blessed, perhaps in the presence of the transcendent or the divine?
That’s a thin place, an identification used by Celts long ago. Thin places are spaces where heaven and earth come closer, where it seems possible to sense or glimpse across the divide between.
Writer Eric Weiner explains, “Heaven and earth, the Celtic saying goes, are only three feet apart, but in thin places that distance is even shorter.” Think St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, Petra in Jordan, or Sequoia National Park. Our own Ghost Ranch is, to many, a thin space—its dramatic, otherworldly beauty enthralls, inspires, reverences, even jolts us out of usual ways of looking at the world. Few come away from a Ghost Ranch experience unchanged.
In this Writing in Thin Places workshop you will write about your own experience with thin places – Ghost Ranch or around the world – both in group activities and on your own.
Discuss together how other writers and mystics have written about such special places. Share your writing in group. Come away with a fresh perspective and a collection of new and thoughtful texts. All levels of writers welcome.
RATES & FEES | IMPORTANT NOTE: PAYMENT IN FULL IS DUE AT THE TIME OF REGISTRATION
$1,696 Private Bath Lodging – restroom inside your room $825, $675 tuition, $196 meals package
$1,321 Dorm-style Lodging – restroom outside your room $450, $675 tuition, $196 meals package
HELP
Please use the options below to find helpful information regarding Ghost Ranch Workshops and Retreats
If you need shuttle service, please reach out to Kevin at White Buffalo Shuttle 831.359.8077 | nivek@cruzio.com
Virtual Events: Payments made for Virtual Events are non-refundable. If you are unable to attend the event, recordings will be made available to you after the event. For events with multiple sessions, every attempt will be made to make the session(s) available to you before the next scheduled session.
In-person events: Written notification must be received no later than 45 days prior to the start date of your workshop in order to receive a refund, minus a $150 processing charge. No refunds can be processed after that time. We reserve the right to announce a change in leadership or cancel any program 31 days prior to the first day of the workshop. In this event, you may transfer to another workshop without charge or we will refund the full workshop payment. (Many participants have found it helpful to purchase travel insurance). If the cancellation is received less than 31 days prior to your start date, your funds can be left on deposit for another Ghost Ranch workshop or future stay during this calendar year, but you must know the exact dates of your next stay. Or you can choose to make it a tax-deductible donation to support Ghost Ranch. This cancellation policy does not apply to January Term.
We understand there are some with special dietary restrictions. In order for us to best serve all, prior notice of any special needs is required.
Because we are a cafeteria style foodservice and our number of guests can be quite large, we are unable to accommodate individual meals for any guest. We are, however, always looking to be sure that we have an option that will fit one or more common and crossover restrictions.
Any severe allergies are taken most seriously, yet we cannot promise there will be no cross contamination in the assembling of products here. We highly recommend some personal option be brought along. We do have a few public refrigerators available, but there is no access to a kitchen or cooking.
We are also unable administer any medication, so please have your personal Epi-Pen” readily available.
We are glad you are planning to visit the ranch, and want your trip from beginning to end to be smooth.We rely on White Buffalo Shuttle for our guests. Kevin Spitzer picks up at the Sage Inn in Santa Fe the afternoon of the first date listed, and returns to the Sage Inn the morning of the last date. His phone number is 831.359.8077. Email is nivek@cruzio.com
The best way to get to Santa Fe Sage Inn is Groome Transportation. They are very helpful in assessing your flight info and getting you on the right shuttle at the right time. 505.474.5696/ groometransportation.com
EVENT FAQ's
Click here to see a full list of FAQs
What day/time does the workshop start and end?
In-person workshops begin with check-in at 3:00 p.m. and a ranch orientation in the evening on the first date listed for the course and end at 10:00 a.m. with checkout on the last date listed.
Virtual workshops will have a varied schedule that is identified within each workshop description.
What is the difference between a room with private bath, a room with semi-private or shared bath, and a room with communal/dorm bath?
Private bath refers to the type of bathroom, not single occupancy
Private Bath Room: There is a bathroom in that one room that is not shared between or with any other rooms. The highest rate tier of Ghost Ranch lodging.
Semi-private/shared: There is a bathroom between two rooms that is shared by the occupants of the two adjoining sleeping rooms. These rooms will only be used as family or group suites, not to be shared by unknown neighbors as in the past.
Communal/dorm: There is a communal bathroom/shower in the lodging building and participants will need to exit their room to reach these facilities.
I EAT A VEGAN/GLUTEN-FREE/DAIRY-FREE (ETC.) DIET. WHAT ARE MY MEAL OPTIONS?
- The ranch Dining Hall serves three meals a day on a fixed schedule. We offer a vegetarian option at each meal. While the Dining Hall offers gluten-free items and vegan dishes at some meals, we cannot guarantee that these options will be available for each meal. Let us know about this need in your registration notes. If it is necessary for a guest to eat a specific diet or if a guest has food allergies, the surest option is to bring personal food items to the ranch. There are refrigerators available for guest use in a few common/public spaces.
Instructors
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Carol Lea ClarkCarol Lea Clark, Ph.D., is both a published writer and a writing instructor. She is associate professor emerita of English at the University of Texas at El Paso, where she taught a variety of writing courses in the Rhetoric and Writing Studies Program. In 2008-09, she held a Fulbright Lecturing Award and taught at the University of Jordan in Amman. She has published articles about artists in several publications, including Southwest Art.
While in Jordan, Dr. Clark began her research for Clash of Eagles: America’s Forgotten Expedition to Ottoman Palestine, which was published by Lyon’s Press. The book tells the story of America’s 1848 naval expedition to explore the Jordan River and the Dead Sea. The New York Public Library awarded her a short-term fellowship to research the book.
Dr. Clark has been a National Endowment for the Humanities fellow, a scholar in residence at St. Benedict’s Monastery in St. Joseph, Minn. and a writer in residence at the Hambridge Center in Georgia. She has published ten books, a variety of scholarly articles (including three about the Middle East) and some 50 magazine articles.
Currently she is writing a speculative fiction novel with a major character based on Georgia O’Keeffe.