The Heart of It Overview
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The Heart of It Overview 〰️
If you are considering applying for The Heart of It, or you just want to know more about what we do — start here. This is our overview page. Be sure to read the F.A.Q page, too!
a note before we begin:
Dear writers: this retreat is in rural northern California, in a remote, wild location. One of the intents of this retreat is to disconnect from the outside world and connect with the natural world, yourself, your community, your writing, and your process. You will be sharing meals, bathrooms, bedrooms, communal space, outdoor space, and downtime with other writers. You will be participating in writing workshops, dialogues, communal meals, and you will be experiencing fellowship with people that are brand new to you. You will have time to yourself, and everything you participate in is your choice. Please take this into consideration before applying. If you have any questions about this, please reach out to Desireé here.
tl;dr version:
The Heart of It was founded by Desireé Dallagiacomo in 2016, and 2024 will be our 7th year of retreats. We have 3 full-time staff and over 80 alumni. We are working to get our history in writing, so check back soon. For now, you’ll have to hear it told by Des at The Heart of It 2024.
The Heart of It 2024 is at Oz Farm, on the traditional lands of the Hopland Band of the Pomo Indians (Sho-Ka-Wah or “east of the river” is the name of the people for themselves in the Central Pomo language), now called Point Arena, California in Mendocino County.
The Heart of It 2024 is a 4 day, 3 night writing retreat on a 240-acre private retreat grounds facilitated by Desireé Dallagiacomo and a team of teaching artists, community organizers, and retreat alumni. THOI consists of writing workshops, dialogues, generative exercises, cohort readings, time in the natural world, and self-guided independent time. Throughout the 4 day retreat, there is ample time to connect with other writers in workshop and organically. In 2024, we will be at the beautiful Oz Farm in Point Arena, California. 240 private acres. It is rustic. It is earthy. Keep that in mind as you consider applying, and we highly encourage you to look around their website to get a feel for the location and region. The farm is beautiful, and though we love it, it is not for everyone. If you have accessibility questions please reach out.
Each cohort is a small, curated group of diverse writers selected by Des and THOI alumni. Each cohort consists of 12-14 writers, 1-2 returning THOI alumni, and Desireé.
Des provides her private library of poetry, nonfiction, and craft writing books, and each writer will have full access to it throughout the weekend. Each day there will be time to explore the outdoors in whatever way feels comfortable for you.
The cabins are spread about the property and vary in distance and terrain. We are able to accommodate many ability levels due to the diversity of cabins, and if you have a specific question or need please reach out.
The Origins & Purpose:
The Heart of It was founded by Desireé Dallagiacomo as a grassroots way to foster belonging and cultural wealth in our rich and diverse writing communities and as an alternative to academic writing retreats and fellowships. It was born of and for the cultivation of self, story, kinship, and beloved community with particular interest toward writers without space readily accessible to them due to systemic barriers. Oftentimes, Des found academically rigorous or rigid writing spaces felt out of alignment with the core value of communal learning and wisdom sharing. Desireé learned how to teach and be in community in spoken word, poetry slam, and youth spoken word communities and much of those philosophies and practices have shaped The Heart of It. In the search for space rooted in communal knowledge and the principles of community education, The Heart of It was born. There are many writing retreats that honor this, and The Heart of It is just one of them.
The Heart of It aims to liberate resources, foster kinship, and help facilitate a space in which fellows can share the valuable knowledge they carry within them and learn from each other. Though it is facilitated and curated mostly by Des, it is a space built by and for the unique fellows with workshops and craft talks led by fellows as well.
The Heart of It is meant for writers of all skill levels, with particular interest in writers with limited or emerging access to a consistent community and resources and writers with working class and community backgrounds. The Heart of It is for the writer that wants to give themselves time, space, connection, and structure while engaging in the natural world. With minimal access to everyday distractions, writers have the opportunity to dive into their process and their projects. At The Heart of It, many writers develop a lifelong devotion and practice to their writing and writing community.
The Heart of It is in August 2024.
First Years: 4 days & 3 nights in August 2024. Upon acceptance, fellows will receive their exact dates. The dates will be between August 1-20. Head the the FAQ page to find out why we do things this way.
Alumni: 5 days & 4 nights in August 2024. Upon acceptance, fellows will receive their exact dates.
Due to the nature of the selection process, we do not allow applicants to request a specific cohort.
The Project Portal: 5 days, 4 nights between August 1-20 TPP will happen at the same time as the cohorts, and you will be given dates upon acceptance.
The Duo Residency: 5 days, 4 nights between August 1-20. The Duo Residency will happen at the same time as the cohorts, and you will be given dates upon acceptance.
The Fellowship: The Fellowship will vary between 4-6 nights depending on which TPP or Duo Residency you are a part of.
It is open to all writers who want to be in community.
The Heart of It is open to all writers, with particular interest in writers focused on individual writing practice as well as community and collective. The Heart of It is open to all genders with priority given to those of marginalized genders. THOI is especially meant for writers with limited access to a consistent community and resources and writers with working class and community backgrounds. We’ve had mothers that write in their free time and have never published a word of it, college students that wrote their first poem shortly before they applied, viral youtube poets, extensively published poets, professors, folks with MFAs and long lists of accolades, Doctors, CEOs, motivational speakers, memoirists, creative non-fiction writers, fiction writers, and poets of all skill levels. If The Heart of It feels right for you, we hope you’ll apply.
Most workshops focus on poetry and creative, personal nonfiction writing.
In 2024, we’ll be at Oz Farm in Mendocino County, California.
In 2024, we will be at the beautiful Oz Farm in Point Arena, California. 240 private acres. It is rustic. It is earthy. Keep that in mind as you consider applying, and we highly encourage you to look around their website to get a feel for the location and region. The farm is beautiful, and though we love it, it is not for everyone. If you have accessibility questions please reach out. All activities, workshops, and meals will happen in the shared space. The cabins are spread about the property and vary in distance and terrain. We are able to accommodate many ability levels due to the diversity of cabins, and if you have a specific question or need please reach out. You will be required to walk anywhere from 200 ft to 1/2 mile to and from your cabin space, and we will accommodate to the best of our abilities. There are also vehicles to provide transportation to and from most cabins. Oz Farm is a working farm and you will encounter wildlife (rabbits, non-venomous snakes, gophers, bats, birds, deer, etc). Please take this into consideration when considering applying.
We have a particular way we do things at The Heart of It…
The Heart of It utilizes an emergent agenda. This means the staff structure the retreat and the fellows solidify the schedule together each day. There are 2-4 workshops a day, the majority of which are generative writing workshops with some writing practice/theory workshops and guided dialogues. As a rough outline: each morning will be spent on your own, each afternoon will be spent in workshops and structured programming, and each evening will be spent in various social and communal activities (beach outing, bonfire, etc) while the late evening will be unstructured and is usually utilized to sit around a fire, get some extra rest, share in deep conversation and tea drinking, or whatever else your heart desires. Each day, there are multiple opportunities to share your writing with your cohort, and most workshops culminate in a read back. Mornings will be spent on your own, and instruction will begin at 11am. You will be provided with 9 meals, and each member of the community is asked to contribute to the preparation process (chopping, setting the table, doing dishes, cooking, etc). You will have allotted downtime and quiet time, and there will be space each day to share your work with the group.
. . .and we have a particular vibe.
This retreat is socially demanding. It is full of conversation, feeling, laughter, shared meals, shared ideas, invitations to be vulnerable, and space to be yourself. If group settings are not your thing, please deeply consider this before applying. The physical environment is a working organic farm and is built into a coastal redwood grove. We encourage you to be at least *comfortable* in the outdoors (don’t worry — there is running water, electricity, flush toilets, and real buildings lol)
We work hard to keep costs as low as possible.
Tuition is $1,250 for both the alumni and first year cohorts. With this tuition, we are able to fund scholarships, pay staff, afford our venue, and grow our capacity. Tuition covers everything that will happen from the time you step foot onto Oz to when you leave. Lodging, meals, instruction, and incidentals. You are responsible for your travel to and from the farm.
Tuition must be paid in full and there are no refunds. You can pay in one payment or via an automated payment plan from December-July.
There are 5 scholarships, and those are awarded upon acceptance.
As an emergent element for 2024, upon acceptance The Heart of It team will offer initial, minimal support in finding and applying to funding from local arts organizations, your school, your workplace, and any other financial resources that may be available. We highly encourage looking for funding now.
If you would like to help make The Heart of It accessible, please consider donating toward tuition. Each year, there is a pool of money used as scholarship funds for the writers in most need.
This is our COVID policy. We take it very seriously.
Every writer and staff member is required to provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination prior to arrival. 72 hours before your arrival and upon arrival, you will be required to provide a negative test result (2 tests total). If you do not have access to COVID-19 tests, the THOI team will mail the needed tests directly to you. Masks will be required for travel to and from, but will not be required during the retreat.
Leading up to THOI, we may continue to adjust and implement additional protocols as mandated by the state of California and other governmental agencies.
In 2023, we had 43 writers and 3 staff and no related COVID infections prior, during, or after The Heart of It. We worked very hard to keep our fellows and community safe, and we continue to implement the same protocols in 2024 and beyond.