Robert Bly - Great Mother Conference - 29th Annual in 2003 -Orcas Island

ROBERT BLY’S 29TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON
THE GREAT MOTHER AND THE NEW FATHER

May 31 - June 8th, 2003 at Four Winds on Orcas Island, Washington State

a conference on:

"rebuilding our cultural life"

Featuring:

author Caroline Casey,
poet Robert Bly,
author / storyteller
extraodinaire Gioia Timpanelli...
vocalist extradinaire Susan Osborn,
"keeper of the rituals" Sobonfu Some,
musician / teacher Miguel Rivera
and many more!

We also will hear again musicians
Marcus Wise - tablas, and
David Whetstone - sitar,
and will sing each day alive with
sacred chant leader Doug Von Koss

Click here to register

call 617-332-3541
for more info:
greatmother@yellowmoon.com

download 2 page flyer
with registration form
2,000k

download 4 page brochure
488k

This year's Annual Conference will be held at Orcas Island, WA,
from May 31 to June 8, 2003.

We look to everyone to make this year a great success. Please bookmark this page and return for updated information as teachers are added. A printable 4 page brochure with registration form available now!

THE TOPIC
"rebuilding our cultural life"

Last year we dealt with the magnificent culture of 13th century Spain with it’s Muslim, Jewish and Christian music and poetry. This year we will come back to our culture. We have been witnessing the collapse of the house of culture in the United States. A glance at a contemporary art exhibition, or a New York Times Book Review, will make that quite clear. How that collapse happened needs much thought but we can say that we are looking at bits of the temple roof lying on the sidewalk. The time has come for the rebuilding of our cultural life. That cannot be done by famous people. So this conference will be a little more intimate and expect more from participants. We will basically be people gathering together to look at what we can do to rebuild our cultural life. We know that cannot be done without study.

David Whetstone will give some talks in the mornings, playing the sitar and discuss how form appears in sitar music. If we are going to rebuild our cultural life, we probably will have to pay attention to form. We have to ask what is expected of us besides watching television. It is possible television has been the main destroyer of culture — both in it’s way of interrupting the concentration of children, and in offering adults a life of entertainment. Reading of difficult European literature is mostly gone; though its always been the way American culture has fed itself.

There will be many opportunities for people to learn how to play music, to dance, to make art, to write poetry in small groups. Beside her amazing story telling Gioia Timpanelli will talk about the deep psyche — the one who is unknown — about honoring consciousness, and learning to get things done in the world. Caroline Casey, the astrologer and visionary activist, will bring her blazing intelligence and wit to describe what is happening these days in the political world and the inner world. Sobonfu Somé will bring her songs and deep knowledge of the old roots of African culture including grief rituals. The singer Susan Osborne, from Orcas Island, will give a concert. Miguel Rivera will bring in mythology from Guatemala and lead drumming with those who have brought instruments. Doug von Koss will lead sacred song and chant. Robert Bly will read some ghazals in the morning and talk about the relation of wildness to form, and recite new translations of Hafez and Rumi. Other new teachers will be invited — check the web site for updates.

THE CONFERENCE
The Conference on the GREAT MOTHER and the NEW FATHER was begun by Robert Bly and has met annually since 1974 to consider a wide variety of mythological, poetic and fairy tale traditions. The aim is to create an environment in which participants are able to move toward an understanding between men and women, young and old, and people of diverse cultures, ethnic backgrounds, mythological and ritual traditions. Expect to find interesting opportunities for creative expression in conversation, movement, writing, music and the visual arts.

THE CONFERENCE SITE
The 2003, 29th annual Conference will be held on 120 acres of woods, fields, and waterfront at Four Winds, on Orcas Island, Washington State, some 80 miles north of Seattle in the San Juan Islands. The accommodations are communal in orientation, offering cabins with six beds and a fireplace, the lodge dorm with bunk beds overlooking the harbor, canvas tents on platforms, all are close to the sea. There are no private rooms available. There are places to set up your own tent. The environment is beautiful, with exceptional views, the water clear for swimming, canoeing, sailing and other activities. Four Winds Camp is accessible by ferry from Anacortes or by direct flight from the Seattle airport.

I n general this year we will ask how can we lift our voices in a time of cultural disaster. Lifting refers to our need to resist against the tendency toward silence, to fight the endless habit of war, and struggle against depression, passivity and fear. During these ten days we will have a taste of what it is like to live in a community of women and men who have raised their voice already in acts of resistance, through painting, poetry, thought, and storytelling. This conference tends to be fond of teachers including those dead such as Joseph Campbell and Marie Louise von Franz. Children are welcome. We have teachers who work specifically with projects for children and teens. - Robert Bly.

author Caroline Casey,

poet Robert Bly

author/storyteller
extraordinaire Gioia Timpanelli

vocalist Susan Osborn

traditional ritual leader Sobonfu Some

percussion master Miguel Rivera

David Whetstone - sitar

and many more!

Call and Answer

Tell me why it is we don't lift our voices these days
And cry over what is happening. Have you noticed
The plans are made for Iraq and the ice cap is melting?

I say to myself: "Go on, cry. What's the sense
Of being an adult and having no voice? Cry out!
See who will answer! This is Call and Answer!"

We will have to call especially loud to reach
Our angels, who are hard of hearing; they are hiding
In the jugs of silence filled during our wars.

Have we agreed to so many wars that we can't
Escape from silence? If we don't lift our voices, we allow
Others (who are ourselves) to rob the house.

How come we've listened to the great criers-Neruda,
Akhmatova, Thoreau, Frederick Douglas-and now
We're silent as sparrows in the little bushes?

Some masters say our life lasts only seven days.
Where are we in the week? Is it Thursday yet?
Hurry, cry now! Soon Sunday night will come.

— Robert Bly

REBUILDING OUR CULTURAL LIFE

Conference participants who work with
the visual arts will have an opportunity
to show their work in a Conference gallery.

Susan Aaron-Taylor, www.detroitcontemporary.com/taylor,
will co-ordinate the gallery.

INFORMATION

Dates: May 31st -June 8th, 2003

Place: Four Winds Camp on Orcas Island, Washington State

for more info

call 617-332-3541

email: greatmother@yellowmoon.com

Click here for registration form

Conference on the Great Mother & New Father
C/O Jon Parsons
17 Eddy Street
West Newton, MA 02465-2132

There will be a Conference shuttle from the Seattle airport to the camp. We are suggesting those who are coming by air to arrive in to Sea-Tac on Saturday May 31 by 1PM and schedule their departure out of Sea-Tac on the 8th after 2 PM. Details on this will be sent with the letter confirming your registration.

NEW !
download 4 page brochure
488k

We are making a new effort to solicit funding for our scholarship positions in order to keep the conference size to an optimal number of participants. If you are able to make a contribution to the diversity /work /scholarship fund, please indicate that on your registration form.

This conference owes its continuance
to no institutions or foundations —
It is entirely supported by those who attend.

Diversity/Work/Scholarships:

The conference community is committed to attracting teachers and participants of all ages, ethnicity, and spiritual traditions. To this end we accept a limited number of participants at a reduced fee in exchange for work at the conference. If you would like to be considered for one of these places, please include with your registration form a short statement explaining your circumstances.

download 4 page brochure488k

in adobe PDF format to download and print and post at your local campus, coffeehouse and/or Arts center. Invite a like-minded friend too!

Free reader for .PDF files: for Mac, Windows, Linux, Solaris, OS2 Just click on the link below , or cut and paste it into your browser window.
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

http://www.greatmotherconference.com

call 617-332-3541 for more info

Please bookmark this site:-

greatmother@yellowmoon.com

ROBERT BLY’S ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON THE GREAT MOTHER AND THE NEW FATHER

TEACHERS list

Follow these links
for more information
about Orcas Island:

http://www.deerharbor.org

http://www.orcasisland.org

For weather outlook
on Orcas Island check here:

author Caroline Casey,
poet Robert Bly
author/storyteller
extraordinaire Gioia Timpanelli
vocalist Susan Osborn
traditional ritual leader Sobonfu Some
percussion master Miguel Rivera
David Whetstone - sitar
and many more!

Conference brochure and website designed and maintained by Mark Stanley and Lydia Kulesov at 4insight.com

9/15/03

	ROBERT BLY’S 29TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON THE GREAT MOTHER AND THE NEW FATHER May 31 - June 8th, 2003 at Four Winds on Orcas Island, Washington State
	a conference on: "rebuilding our cultural life"
	Featuring: author Caroline Casey, poet Robert Bly, author / storyteller extraodinaire Gioia Timpanelli... vocalist extradinaire Susan Osborn, "keeper of the rituals" Sobonfu Some, musician / teacher Miguel Rivera and many more! We also will hear again musicians Marcus Wise - tablas, and David Whetstone - sitar, and will sing each day alive with sacred chant leader Doug Von Koss
	Click here to register *call 617-332-3541* *for more info:* greatmother@yellowmoon.com download 2 page flyer with registration form 2,000k download 4 page brochure 488k		This year's Annual Conference will be held at Orcas Island, WA, from May 31 to June 8, 2003. We look to everyone to make this year a great success. Please bookmark this page and return for updated information as teachers are added. A printable 4 page brochure with registration form available now!

	THE TOPIC "rebuilding our cultural life" Last year we dealt with the magnificent culture of 13th century Spain with it’s Muslim, Jewish and Christian music and poetry. This year we will come back to our culture. We have been witnessing the collapse of the house of culture in the United States. A glance at a contemporary art exhibition, or a New York Times Book Review, will make that quite clear. How that collapse happened needs much thought but we can say that we are looking at bits of the temple roof lying on the sidewalk. The time has come for the rebuilding of our cultural life. That cannot be done by famous people. So this conference will be a little more intimate and expect more from participants. We will basically be people gathering together to look at what we can do to rebuild our cultural life. We know that cannot be done without study. David Whetstone will give some talks in the mornings, playing the sitar and discuss how form appears in sitar music. If we are going to rebuild our cultural life, we probably will have to pay attention to form. We have to ask what is expected of us besides watching television. It is possible television has been the main destroyer of culture — both in it’s way of interrupting the concentration of children, and in offering adults a life of entertainment. Reading of difficult European literature is mostly gone; though its always been the way American culture has fed itself. There will be many opportunities for people to learn how to play music, to dance, to make art, to write poetry in small groups. Beside her amazing story telling Gioia Timpanelli will talk about the deep psyche — the one who is unknown — about honoring consciousness, and learning to get things done in the world. Caroline Casey, the astrologer and visionary activist, will bring her blazing intelligence and wit to describe what is happening these days in the political world and the inner world. Sobonfu Somé will bring her songs and deep knowledge of the old roots of African culture including grief rituals. The singer Susan Osborne, from Orcas Island, will give a concert. Miguel Rivera will bring in mythology from Guatemala and lead drumming with those who have brought instruments. Doug von Koss will lead sacred song and chant. Robert Bly will read some ghazals in the morning and talk about the relation of wildness to form, and recite new translations of Hafez and Rumi. Other new teachers will be invited — check the web site for updates.
	THE CONFERENCE The Conference on the GREAT MOTHER and the NEW FATHER was begun by Robert Bly and has met annually since 1974 to consider a wide variety of mythological, poetic and fairy tale traditions. The aim is to create an environment in which participants are able to move toward an understanding between men and women, young and old, and people of diverse cultures, ethnic backgrounds, mythological and ritual traditions. Expect to find interesting opportunities for creative expression in conversation, movement, writing, music and the visual arts. THE CONFERENCE SITE The 2003, 29th annual Conference will be held on 120 acres of woods, fields, and waterfront at Four Winds, on Orcas Island, Washington State, some 80 miles north of Seattle in the San Juan Islands. The accommodations are communal in orientation, offering cabins with six beds and a fireplace, the lodge dorm with bunk beds overlooking the harbor, canvas tents on platforms, all are close to the sea. There are no private rooms available. There are places to set up your own tent. The environment is beautiful, with exceptional views, the water clear for swimming, canoeing, sailing and other activities. Four Winds Camp is accessible by ferry from Anacortes or by direct flight from the Seattle airport. I n general this year we will ask how can we lift our voices in a time of cultural disaster. Lifting refers to our need to resist against the tendency toward silence, to fight the endless habit of war, and struggle against depression, passivity and fear. During these ten days we will have a taste of what it is like to live in a community of women and men who have raised their voice already in acts of resistance, through painting, poetry, thought, and storytelling. This conference tends to be fond of teachers including those dead such as Joseph Campbell and Marie Louise von Franz. Children are welcome. We have teachers who work specifically with projects for children and teens. - Robert Bly.		author Caroline Casey, poet Robert Bly author/storyteller extraordinaire Gioia Timpanelli vocalist Susan Osborn traditional ritual leader Sobonfu Some percussion master Miguel Rivera David Whetstone - sitar and many more!

Call and Answer Tell me why it is we don't lift our voices these days And cry over what is happening. Have you noticed The plans are made for Iraq and the ice cap is melting? I say to myself: "Go on, cry. What's the sense Of being an adult and having no voice? Cry out! See who will answer! This is Call and Answer!" We will have to call especially loud to reach Our angels, who are hard of hearing; they are hiding In the jugs of silence filled during our wars. Have we agreed to so many wars that we can't Escape from silence? If we don't lift our voices, we allow Others (who are ourselves) to rob the house. How come we've listened to the great criers-Neruda, Akhmatova, Thoreau, Frederick Douglas-and now We're silent as sparrows in the little bushes? Some masters say our life lasts only seven days. Where are we in the week? Is it Thursday yet? Hurry, cry now! Soon Sunday night will come. — Robert Bly REBUILDING OUR CULTURAL LIFE Conference participants who work with the visual arts will have an opportunity to show their work in a Conference gallery. Susan Aaron-Taylor, www.detroitcontemporary.com/taylor, will co-ordinate the gallery.		INFORMATION Dates: May 31st -June 8th, 2003 Place: Four Winds Camp on Orcas Island, Washington State for more info call 617-332-3541 email: greatmother@yellowmoon.com Click here for registration form Conference on the Great Mother & New Father C/O Jon Parsons 17 Eddy Street West Newton, MA 02465-2132 There will be a Conference shuttle from the Seattle airport to the camp. We are suggesting those who are coming by air to arrive in to Sea-Tac on Saturday May 31 by 1PM and schedule their departure out of Sea-Tac on the 8th after 2 PM. Details on this will be sent with the letter confirming your registration. NEW ! download 4 page brochure 488k We are making a new effort to solicit funding for our scholarship positions in order to keep the conference size to an optimal number of participants. If you are able to make a contribution to the diversity /work /scholarship fund, please indicate that on your registration form. This conference owes its continuance to no institutions or foundations — It is entirely supported by those who attend. Diversity/Work/Scholarships: The conference community is committed to attracting teachers and participants of all ages, ethnicity, and spiritual traditions. To this end we accept a limited number of participants at a reduced fee in exchange for work at the conference. If you would like to be considered for one of these places, please include with your registration form a short statement explaining your circumstances.
download 4 page brochure488k in adobe PDF format to download and print and post at your local campus, coffeehouse and/or Arts center. Invite a like-minded friend too! Free reader for .PDF files: for Mac, Windows, Linux, Solaris, OS2 Just click on the link below , or cut and paste it into your browser window. http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html		http://www.greatmotherconference.com call 617-332-3541 for more info Please bookmark this site:- greatmother@yellowmoon.com
ROBERT BLY’S ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON THE GREAT MOTHER AND THE NEW FATHER		TEACHERS list
Follow these links for more information about Orcas Island: http://www.deerharbor.org http://www.orcasisland.org For weather outlook on Orcas Island check here:		author Caroline Casey, poet Robert Bly author/storyteller extraordinaire Gioia Timpanelli vocalist Susan Osborn traditional ritual leader Sobonfu Some percussion master Miguel Rivera David Whetstone - sitar and many more! Conference brochure and website designed and maintained by Mark Stanley and Lydia Kulesov at 4insight.com