Logistics

 

Travel and Accomodation Information

Forms for Fellows

Forms for Faculty

 

Retreat Dates:  Wednesday, June 20 - Sunday, June 24, 2012

Mandatory Residence:  It is expected that Fellows and Faculty are in residence at Fordham University for the duration of the Retreat.  If you would like to explore New York City separate from the Retreat, please make plans to arrive in New York a few days before or after the Retreat to make arrangements for this.  If you know that you will not be able to be in residence for the entirety of the Retreat, it is recommended that you select another year to attend.

Check In and Check Out:  On Wednesday, check in will be conducted from 10 am – 5 pm at O'Hare Hall.  If your arrival falls outside of this time frame, please email Vikas Menon at vikasm@kundiman.org so that we can arrange for check in on your behalf. Upon entering Fordham’s gates, inform the security guard that you are attending the Kundiman Poetry Retreat.  Check out is 11:00 am on Sunday.

Dinner on Wednesday night is mandatory.  The Kundiman staff will meet you on the ground level of O'Hare Hall at 5:30 pm.  Following dinner, fellows, staff and faculty will begin first introductions and readings. Bring 1 poem to share with the group.
 
Mandatory Retreat Orientation:  Essential Retreat information will be given out to all fellows and faculty members during this orientation scheduled for Thursday, 9:30 am in the Faculty Lounge in McGinley Center.

Accommodations and Dining:  Fordham University is a smoke-free environment.  All fellows will be assigned a roommate.  (Rooms are doubles and baths are shared.)  Basic linens (pillow, sheet and blanket) will be provided.  Buffet style meals including vegetarian and vegan options are served each day.

Your first Workshop is on Thursday at 2:00 pm.  Please make sure to bring 9 copies of a new poem to every workshop.  Upon check-in at Fordham, you will receive a Copy Card (in the amount of $5.00), which will enable you to print out multiple copies of your poems for workshop.  Please bring in new poems (written during the retreat) to present and share for your Workshops scheduled for Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

If you have a laptop computer, please bring this.  You will have access to a wireless network.  Public computer lab and printing facilities will be available in Fordham’s Walsh Library during the following days and times.

  • Wednesday, Thursday:  8:30 am – 10:00 pm
  • Friday:  9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Summer in NYC:  As it can tend to be hot in New York during the summer, please make sure to bring lightweight clothing with you.

Off-campus overnights and on-campus guests are not permitted (with the exception of the Friday public reading).

Describe a typical day:

8:00 - 9:00 am:  Breakfast

10:00 am - 12:00 pm:  Spark Writing Exercise/Poetry Clinic

12:30 - 1:30 pm:  Lunch

2:00 - 4:30 pm:  Workshop

5:30 - 6:30 pm:  Dinner

8:00 pm:  Salon Reading

9:00 pm:  Evening Event/Quiet Time

 

Kundiman is not for the faint of heart.  The workshops, spark writing exercises, circles, mentoring, and connecting that is Kundiman was one of the most inspiring, surprising, and exhilarating experiences I have ever had.  I feel as if I crossed a bridge across an erupting volcano and emerged on the other side with a new understanding of my poetry and myself.  I came to Kundiman with the hope of finding a new literary community, but instead found a new family.  The voices of my warm, wonderful Kundiman family still reverberate through me in everything I write: transforming me, nudging me to keep challenging myself.  I feel so incredibly blessed.   --Sharon Suzuki Martinez