Summer Gathering 2026

July 19, 2026
9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Beth Jacob Synagogue
10 Harrison Ave., Montpelier, VT 05602

A day to read our poems and share creative sources, to write and to deepen connection. Our time together this year includes member-led generative workshops, options for structured conversation about being Jewish poets here and now, about aesthetic and spiritual approaches to poetry, and an interactive workshop on an aspect of craft.

REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED

Open to all Vermont poets who self-identify as Jewish

Beth Jacob Synagogue is wheelchair accessible, microphones will be used

More information: [email protected]

What to expect:

Morning workshop: Playful Expression by Judith Taylor
Two ideas inform this expressive exercise.

One is from Jane Hirshfield:
Encounter with the unknown seems almost a nutrient in human life… The trick then is discovering how much, and when, to admit the random, chaotic, unknowable into our lives… This is where transformations lie.

The other is from Stanley Kunitz:
In a sense, all creativity is a process of giving meaning to what is on a universal scale meaningless.

Our days are filled with mysteries and creative challenges. How we respond to them reveals something about who we are, how we live our lives, and how we do the work that’s ours to do. One way of engaging with these opportunities is through play, which is at the heart of creativity. This workshop is an invitation to explore the possible ways that mystery and play can deepen our self-knowledge and the poems that we make.

Round-robin readings: bring one poem to read aloud to the group 

BYO brown bag lunch, fruit and water supplied

Book swap, your own or books you’d like to trade 

Browse samples of people’s other creative expressions that feed their poetry

Schmooze and move around

Afternoon Structured Conversation Options:

1. Being a Jewish Poet now: facilitated by Zelda Alpern
   What does it mean to you to be Jewish and a writer of poetry at this moment? How does being Jewish influence your writing? How are you currently relating to/grappling with your Jewish identity? How does this show up or not show up in your poems? Depending on the size of the group, we may practice some structured listening exercises.
2. Approaching A Poem: led by TBD
   Using a collection of quotations about poetry from many sources, we’ll discuss which ones ring a bell for us, puzzle us, delight us, or annoy us. How might they influence the poems we might write? Quotations compiled by Judith Taylor

Afternoon Craft Workshop led by Ivy Schweitzer

Ivy Schweitzer is the author of Dividing Rivers: Poems, from Finishing Line Press, 2025. 

An interactive workshop to delve into the basics of repetition in poetry. We will discuss examples of repetition in content and form and try our hands at a poem that uses repetition. You might bring a line or two of poetry to the workshop (original or from a poem you love) that you might want to develop.