The fifth annual Mayapple Writers’ Retreat will take place at Byrdcliffe in Woodstock, NY from July 26 to 31, 2016. The program includes four public readings of poetry and prose by regional and national writers.

In addition to Hudson Valley participants, this year’s writers come from Arkansas, Florida, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Maryland, Western and Southern Tier New York, and the US Virgin Islands.

Schedule of Public Readings (free admission)

Wednesday, July 27, 7:00 pm at the Villetta Inn, 3 Upper Byrdcliffe Way, Woodstock (next to Byrdcliffe Theater). Readers: Shannon Frystak, Judith Kerman, Amy Riddell, Kathleen Hellen.

Thursday, July 28, 7:00 p.m. at New World Home Cooking, 1411 NY Rt. 212, Saugerties: Goat Hill Poets, including Leslie Gerber, plus Gillian Royes.

Friday, July 29, 6:30 p.m. at Woodstock Library, 5 Library Lane, Woodstock. Readers: Rosalyn Rossignol, Wendy Taylor Carlisle, Joyce Kessel.

Saturday, July 30, 7:00 p.m. at Creekside Grill, Woodstock Golf Course, Rts. 212 and 375, Woodstock. Readers: Nola Garrett, Helen Ruggieri, Barbara Diehl, Bob McDonough

Many of the readers will have books for sale at the readings.

All of the listed Woodstock Mayapple Writers’ Retreat readings are free and open to the public; donations are appreciated and help defray expenses.

The Woodstock Mayapple Writers’ Retreat is a professional level writers’ workshop and retreat with a, “comfortable, egalitarian atmosphere,” according to founder and Mayapple Press publisher Judith Kerman of Woodstock. Both poetry and prose work will be developed during the retreat. The program began in Saginaw, Michigan, where for nine years it was known as “Rustbelt Roethke,” named in honor of the poet Theodore Roethke, a major 20th century American poet, who grew up in Saginaw.

After Kerman’s move to the Hudson Valley, the workshop changed states and names, but not its basic format. This is its 14th year, its fifth at the renowned Byrdcliffe Artists’ Colony in Woodstock, a haven for artists and writers for over a century.