The Sundress Academy for the Arts is thrilled to announce its 2026 poetry retreat, which runs from June 20-21st. All SAFTA retreats focus on generative writing, and this year’s retreat will also include the following craft talk sessions: “When the Only Way Out Is Through: On Discomfort, Breaking, and Adaptation” as well as “Getting the Picture,” a workshop the seeks to hone the visual imagery of our writing by exploring the effect of this spectrum on both readers and writers, and by embodying visual images through personal somatic activities, social and scenic research, ekphrastic prompts, and more.
Julia Bouwsma lives off-the-grid in the mountains of western Maine where she works as a poet, homesteader, editor, teacher, and small-town librarian. She is Maine’s sixth Poet Laureate, currently serving a term from 2021 to 2026, and is the author of three poetry collections: Death Fluorescence (Sundress Publications, 2025), Midden (Fordham University Press, 2018), and Work by Bloodlight (Cider Press Review, 2017). She is also the librettist for the short chamber opera, Ghost Apples, which was created in collaboration with composer Nathan Davis and performed by the Halcyon Quartet in September 2025. Bouwsma’s honors include a 2024 Poet Laureate Fellowship from the Academy of American Poets and two Maine Literary Awards. Her work can be found in various publications including Ecotone, Green Mountains Review, Kenyon Review, Plume, and Poetry Daily. She has taught in the Creative Writing department at the University of Maine at Farmington, serves on the Board of Directors for the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance, and works as the Library Director for Webster Library in Kingfield, Maine
Matthew E. Henry (MEH) is an educator, essayist, fiction-dabbler, and the author of seven poetry collections, including the forthcoming Promises to Keep (Wayfarer Books, 2026). He’s editor-in-chief of The Weight Journal andnonfiction editor at Porcupine Literary. MEH’s publications include Barren Magazine, Had, Massachusetts Review, Mom Egg Review, The Pedestal Review, Ploughshares, Stone Circle Review, Terrain, Whale Road Review, The Worcester Review, and Zone 3. MEH earned an MFA yet continued to spend money he didn’t have completing an MA in theology and a PhD in education. He writes about education, race, religion, and burning oppressive systems to the ground at www.MEHPoeting.com.
The total cost of attendance is $89 for both days. We will be offering five full fellowships to this year’s retreat, at least three of which will go to support emerging writers of color. To apply for a fellowship, please upload a packet of 6-8 pages of poetry along with a brief statement on why you would like to attend this workshop no later than April 15, 2025. Winners will be contacted in late April.
Space at this workshop is limited, so reserve your place today!
