***2021 Update: The Residency Lives On!***
Although we fully support everyone's right to make their own choices about their health, we are asking that all residents be fully vaccinated in order to attend. This is for the security and health of our family and employees, with whom you would be sharing land and facilities during your time here.
A self-directed residency for poets, writers, and artists who can make work in a small space.
In honor of the poetry that's a part of our farm name (and the inspiration for how we plant, tend, and blend the herbs we grow), we've established a self-directed residency for poets and writers and makers of small artworks. This offering is for those who seek a quiet, secluded place to live and work, residing for a week amidst the herbs, vegetables, and wild fauna of our rural Vermont farm.
This is a residency for those who desire open space, solitude, and the companionship of a landscape that inspires awe, provides calm, and offers its abundance without an expectation of anything in return.
During your residency, we invite you to respectfully explore our meadows, cultivated fields of herbs, and woodlands. We, the Free Verse Farmers, will serve as your guides to the land, the area, and local literary events and offerings. You will become a part of our summer farm ecosystem: watching as the sun rises and sets; the field workers arrive, lunch, and depart; and the cows munch and gather.
This is a residency for those who desire open space, solitude, and the companionship of a landscape that inspires awe, provides calm, and offers its abundance without an expectation of anything in return.
During your residency, we invite you to respectfully explore our meadows, cultivated fields of herbs, and woodlands. We, the Free Verse Farmers, will serve as your guides to the land, the area, and local literary events and offerings. You will become a part of our summer farm ecosystem: watching as the sun rises and sets; the field workers arrive, lunch, and depart; and the cows munch and gather.
Details:
- Writers/artists are invited for week-long stays, though you may apply for multiple weeks if you desire.
- The amenities of this residency are rustic, but comfortable. Housing is in an off-grid small vintage camper with a bed, a sink, a workspace, a heater, a stove, and a battery for charging appliances. There will be refrigeration available in our "barnage" (the garage we use as our barn), and there is an outhouse with composting toilet, outdoor hot shower, and large sink with potable water.
- The camper has a double bed, so writers are welcome to bring a partner at no extra charge.
- We do not allow pets.
- WiFi is available on-site, though not in the camper, to encourage offline inspiration and progress.
- This residency will be self-designed, with you deciding how to spend your time each day. As your hosts, we will do our best to make your stay as comfortable and inspiring as possible. We are also happy to connect you to local art events. We will only be hosting one writer at a time.
- Writers are encouraged to share some of their work at the end of the week.
- Applications are rolling at this time.
Logistics:
- $250/week. Includes coffee and tea (& sugar & honey & milk), but all other groceries must be provided by you, with meal preparation occurring in your camper.
- We recommend arriving at the residency with groceries for the week, though excellent provisions are available in town at the Free Verse Farm Shop (yep, we opened a shop), which offers locally sourced groceries, including the very best Vermont meats, cheeses, vegetables, herbal products, and other goodies. This is within walking distance, as is a general store. Our nearest coop is in South Royalton, VT.
- Having a car is not necessary, but is very helpful, as we live in a rural place. We live in walking distance to the small village of Chelsea, where there is a post office, library, general store, and farm shop.
- Laundry is not available on-site, though we can provide you with a drying rack.
- If you would like to reach out with questions before applying, please do so using our Contact Form.