My first morning in The Cabin, I took my coffee to the screened-in porch before the Texas summer heat set in, and I wrote in my journal for an unhurried hour:
It has been a long time since I’ve felt connected to the spirit, and I suspect this time away was gifted to me in support of something I didn’t know I lacked. Fawn picking through the dry grass. Spider web. Blue jay. The long drawn-out hum of the locusts. Annie Dillard says that how we spend our days is how we spend our lives. It has been so long since I’ve felt truly connected . . . here, I have time to forget time. Dappled sun on my notebook, the shadow of crosshatched screen. The tree’s textured bark, look how deep the deep divots. Today after my walk, in the slow rise of light a rooster from somewhere nearby announced the morning. Here it is. Here I am. Here I am.
My two weeks away were a gift made possible by the Artist Foundation of San Antonio https://www.artistfound.org/, the only organization in my city to award grants to individual artists. In the spring of 2019, I received financial support to complete my third collection of poems. My budget proposal included time away to work, and I was so grateful that the award allowed me to book a stay at The Writing Barn, just over an hour from home, but a world away.
The cozy, wood-paneled cabin was just the right space for me. I quickly developed my own rituals and routines: screened porch for writing in the morning, reading in the overstuffed chair, revision at the high table in the kitchen. The place has good energy. I settled right in to losing track of time, to the freedom to meander through the process.
The idyllic grounds of this retreat space offer respite within blocks of all you need from stores or restaurants. I looked forward to seeing the resident deer family, sometimes within feet of The Cabin, but I appreciated driving 20 minutes north after a particularly productive day to take a long, extended walk on the trails of Lady Bird Lake in downtown Austin. Knowing I could go move about in the busy world, and come back to my private, quiet space to return to my work put my mind at ease. I could change my environment and not disrupt the flow of ideas.
Living in the realm of unscheduled time allowed me to write three new and surprising poems to include in my book and to deeply revise the entire manuscript. I also drafted four new poems, a short piece of prose, and I had the spark of an idea that I believe will launch a new project. Long a believer in serendipity, I had forgotten the rush of how reading just the right thing at the right moment might offer insight and new direction or how a chance conversation might plant the seed for a fresh possibility. Also, living outside of the demands of daily life allowed me to reflect upon friendships, collegiality, and the necessity of community. Inspired to connect with other writers and artists, I reached out to friends to hear about their lives and latest projects. Being alone, paradoxically, reminded me of the necessity of relationships with other creators.
Honoring the gift of the grant with work well done was my chief concern. At the time of this post, I’m happy to share that two poems from my manuscript were picked up by a literary journal and will appear in and issue this fall. Additionally, a conversation with a friend turned into a lead, connecting me with a publisher I had not previously considered for my book (hello, serendipity). Who knows what will happen, but the synapses are firing and the radar is high.
At home, away from the magical time and space of The Cabin, I try to see my writing life as a practice where I take one tangible step toward my art each day. The swift acceptance from the journal and the energy that continues to fuel my work reminds me to keep the magic close, to stay in momentum.
Laura will be performing her poems in collaboration with Agarita Chamber Players https://www.agarita.org/ on February 8, 2020 @ 7:30 p.m. at The Women’s Club in San Antonio. This is a free event open to the public.
Laura Van Prooyen is author of two collections of poetry, Our House Was on Fire (Ashland Poetry Press) nominated by Philip Levine and winner of the McGovern Prize and Inkblot and Altar (Pecan Grove Press). She is also co-author with Gretchen Bernabei of Text Structures from Poetry, a book of writing lessons for educators of grades 4-12 (Corwin Literacy 2020). Van Prooyen teaches in the low-residency MFA Creative Writing program at Miami University in Oxford, OH and she lives in San Antonio, TX. www.lauravanprooyen.com
We are currently open for rentals. If you’re interested in a private escape to work on your writing, please email jessica@thewritingbarn.com.