Emily Dickinson: Amherst, Massachusetts

July 14-17, 2023

This July, join Professors Amy Hollywood and Stephanie Paulsell of Harvard Divinity School and Vanessa Zoltan, co-host of Harry Potter and the Sacred Text, in Amherst, Massachusetts for a sacred walking pilgrimage centered on Emily Dickinson and her poetry. We will spend time walking in the beautiful Amherst and Holyoke woods, reflecting on Dickinson’s poetry and asking ourselves: what is the purpose of our solitude? 

Emily Dickson’s relationship with solitude and obscurity is a fascinating and complex one, a quirk of her specific historical moment: as a well-born white woman, she was important enough to educate, but she was never expected to matter beyond her present moment. Much of her life is invisible to us, not because it lacked richness or substance, but because it took place in domestic spaces where historical record keeping was sparse, or within relationships that were neither legally nor socially recognized. But, in both the content of her poems and her conscious efforts to organize and preserve them, Dickinson’s investment in literary immortality is apparent. 

Approaching her poems as sacred texts, we will reflect on how the tension between self-containment and worldly significance embodied by Emily Dickinson connects to our lives today. We will consider the work we do for ourselves alone, the work we do to secure notoriety, and whether each suits the space to which we’ve ascribed it. We will also meditate on which parts of our lives, and those of others, should be more visible to the world, and which parts less–how sharing recharges us and how it isolates us.

Each day will include shared meals and walks, and most days will feature either a museum visit or a visit from an outside expert intent on illuminating Dickinson’s work and life. We will have time and space for writing, reflection, reading, and silence as well as ancient reading practices like lectio divina, PaRDes, and, of course, florilegia. 

VANESSA ZOLTAN

Vanessa is the CEO of Not Sorry. She is on three of our podcasts: Harry Potter and the Sacred Text, The Real Question, and Hot & Bothered. She founded Common Ground Pilgrimages in order to travel with brilliant faculty to beautiful places and talk about books with amazing pilgrims. A neat trick she pulled off! She is also the author of the book, Praying with Jane Eyre.

A proud California girl, currently living in MA with her gorgeous blended family, Vanessa was trained as a non-denominational chaplain at Harvard Divinity School. Her Romance novelist pseudonym, if she ever publishes a Romance novel, will be Lorelai Mason.

Vanessa is working as logistics on this trip.

What's Included:

• Three nights in a private or shared room at the gorgeous Inn on Boltwood

• All meals from dinner on the 14th to breakfast on the 17th

• Transportation around Amherst once we gather

• One-on-one chaplaincy sessions with Professor Stephanie Paulsell

• Museum visits, private tours, picnics, and talks with local experts

• A guided hike through the Mount Holyoke Range

• Customized journal

• Time and space to reflect on your life and on classic pieces Emily Dickinson’s work (using this edition and printed copies of her poetry)

LOGISTICS:

We will be walking up to 12 miles each day, sometimes on hilly terrain. We won’t be rushing but we expect to be tired at the end of each day.

• Shared or private rooms are available.

• People who have attended another Common Ground pilgrimage will receive a 5% discount on the cost of the trip

• Registration is first-come, first-served, payment is only accepted in full.

• If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us at commonground@notsorryproductions.com

COVID POLICY:

We are so excited to begin traveling with you again, and as always, our first priority is to make sure that the trips are safe for everyone involved, including the communities we visit and the people who host us. To that end, we are keeping a close eye on the evolving COVID situation and will update you as frequently as we can if the situation with the pilgrimages changes. 

Below are some potential expectations we could have in terms of covid safety. Depending on the recommendations of international health organizations at the time of the pilgrimage, we may institute any or all of the following guidelines. Please understand that signing up indicates your willingness to cooperate with any of these rules as your pilgrimage faculty deem necessary:

• Wearing masks indoors or outdoors, no matter group size

• Social distancing, both indoors and outdoors 

• Getting proof of a negative COVID-19 test within a certain number of hours before arrival

• Getting a negative COVID test upon arrival at the destination

• Proof of vaccination

• Quarantining upon arrival to destination country

On our end, we will refund fully any payments made for the trip in the event that we at Common Ground Pilgrimages have to cancel due to change in travel restrictions, variants, etc. 

By making payment, you acknowledge the above precautions and are willing to follow them, or any similar recommendations, when you come on the pilgrimage. 

REFUND POLICY:

Please be sure you can attend the event before booking. If an unforeseen circumstance does occur, we will do our best to find a replacement for you. If we are able to get someone to take your place, we will refund your full payment minus a service charge (10% of the full payment). For cancellations within six weeks of the beginning of the trip, we are not able to find replacements. We strongly urge you to purchase travel insurance in the event of a personal conflict, health issue, or unexpected circumstance.