I came to Civitella at exactly the right time: I had recently published a book and was eager to develop my thinking about a new project. How lucky I was to find myself in a new (beautiful) place, with new (brilliant) people to talk to. I divided my workdays between...
Steven Sanchez is the author of Phantom Tongue (Sundress Publications, 2018), selected by Mark Doty as the winner of the Rochelle Ratner Memorial Award. He is also the author of two chapbooks: Photographs of Our Shadows (Agape Editions) and To my Body (Glass Poetry...
At Civitella, the spirit of the place takes over and serendipity prevails. Mark Strand’s gift of books to the castle’s library was another garden that nurtured the seeds of my next project. I am grateful for the deep encounters with the people I met at Civitella, for...
Being at Civitella let me do something I had been putting off for a few months: reopening my book manuscript, which I had left dormant as I did more reporting and research, and thought about how I wanted to move forward. But at the castle, in my light-saturated...
When we refer to culture, we usually speak of it in large terms. A national culture. A traditional culture. A religious culture. A set of practices or forms that have been passed down through generations. Here, I’ve been reminded that culture is a simple, humble...
