Awakening to the Poetic In-Person Retreat
Awakening to the Poetic
In-Person Retreat
In Lana, Italy
Writing & Meditation for Aliveness & Connection
A 7-day retreat with Brooke McNamara
At the Schwarzschmied Hotel, member of Design Hotels
September 12-18, 2025
You’re invited to adventure inward and outward to the naturally poetic territories of this Life. Join award-winning poet and transmitted Zen teacher, Brooke McNamara, for 7 days and 6 nights in the cozy, elegant Schwarzschmied Hotel & Spa, surrounded by the magic of the natural world in Lana, Italy.
Nestled in orchards and vineyards where Mediterranean and Alpine landscapes merge in Northern Italy, your invitation is to settle, attune, and play in the poetry of the place.
Whether you long to remember the free creativity of your childhood, to claim the ancient stillness deep in your bones, or to finally enter the right container to finish your book or project, this will be a life-changing adventure.
Come remember and share the aliveness of who you truly are, under whatever busy-ness, distractions, and habits have accumulated. Write your tender curiosities, fierce declarations, and alchemical questions, in connection with other awakening adventurers.
Come awaken to the poetic layers of this precious Life!
You’re invited to adventure inward and outward to the naturally poetic territories of this Life. Join award-winning poet and transmitted Zen teacher, Brooke McNamara, for 7 days and 6 nights in the cozy, elegant Schwarzschmied Hotel & Spa, surrounded by the magic of the natural world in Lana, Italy.
Nestled in orchards and vineyards where Mediterranean and Alpine landscapes merge in Northern Italy, your invitation is to settle, attune, and play in the poetry of the place.
Whether you long to remember the free creativity of your childhood, to claim the ancient stillness deep in your bones, or to finally enter the right container to finish your book or project, this will be a life-changing adventure.
Come remember and share the aliveness of who you truly are, under whatever busy-ness, distractions, and habits have accumulated. Write your tender curiosities, fierce declarations, and alchemical questions, in connection with other awakening adventurers.
Come awaken to the poetic layers of this precious Life!
You’re invited to adventure inward and outward to the naturally poetic territories of this Life. Join award-winning poet and transmitted Zen teacher, Brooke McNamara, for 7 days and 6 nights in the cozy, elegant Schwarzschmied Hotel & Spa, surrounded by the magic of the natural world in Lana, Italy.
Nestled in orchards and vineyards where Mediterranean and Alpine landscapes merge in Northern Italy, your invitation is to settle, attune, and play in the poetry of the place.
Whether you long to remember the free creativity of your childhood, to claim the ancient stillness deep in your bones, or to finally enter the right container to finish your book or project, this will be a life-changing adventure.
Come remember and share the aliveness of who you truly are, under whatever busy-ness, distractions, and habits have accumulated. Write your tender curiosities, fierce declarations, and alchemical questions, in connection with other awakening adventurers.
Come awaken to the poetic layers of this precious Life!
Welcome!
September 12-18, 2025 ~ in Lana, Italy
Meditation harmonizes body, mind, and breath, allowing deep letting go of unnecessary tension and revealing an ever-present Awareness. This deeper nature is our birthright to realize, is not separate from any moment or expression of life, and is refuge when old reference points fall away.
Writing ushers us into a realm of imagination, soul, and the liminal where we remember or sense things we didn’t know we knew. A realm where we can receive vision or whole-hearted wisdom (Prajna), not available through thinking or the conventional five senses alone. Where we may court and be courted by our muses, guides, or noble daemons. And where we can unfold bits of magic and insight simply by showing up to the page.
WHAT STUDENTS ARE SAYING:
“By far the best poetry class I’ve ever done.”
~ Bridget Hanley
"The sessions with Brooke and the community she gathers are gently powerful and powerfully gentle. After every session you have a sense of having had close friends for a visit and you would like them to stay, almost like when you were a kid, playing outside and being called in for dinner — you just want to play a little more…”
~ Igno Van Niekerk
About Your Guide:
Brooke McNamara, MFA, is a poet, meditation instructor, and transmitted Zen teacher and lineage holder. She has published two books of poems: Bury the Seed and Feed Your Vow. She loves to create poems from 3 main ingredients: the raw material of everyday life, wholehearted and visceral listening, and the mind of meditation. For her poetry, Brooke is the recipient of the Charles B. Palmer prize from the Academy of American Poets.
She has taught at Naropa University in Yoga Studies and at the University of Colorado, Boulder in Dance. Brooke is president and a founding teacher at Dragon Lake Zen, and teaches in-person and online courses and retreats to facilitate the awakening of innate wisdom, compassion, artistry, and play. She lives in Boulder, CO with her husband, Rob, their two sons, Lundin and Orion.
Photo by Jewel Afflerbaugh
Photo by Jewel Afflerbaugh
About Your Guide:
Brooke McNamara, MFA, is a poet, meditation instructor, and transmitted Zen teacher and lineage holder. She has published two books of poems: Bury the Seed and Feed Your Vow. She loves to create poems from 3 main ingredients: the raw material of everyday life, wholehearted and visceral listening, and the mind of meditation. For her poetry, Brooke is the recipient of the Charles B. Palmer prize from the Academy of American Poets.
She has taught at Naropa University in Yoga Studies and at the University of Colorado, Boulder in Dance. Brooke is president and a founding teacher at Dragon Lake Zen, and teaches in-person and online courses and retreats to facilitate the awakening of innate wisdom, compassion, artistry, and play. She lives in Boulder, CO with her husband, Rob, their two sons, Lundin and Orion.
Photo by Jewel Afflerbaugh
About Your Guide:
Brooke McNamara, MFA, is a poet, meditation instructor, and transmitted Zen teacher and lineage holder. She has published two books of poems: Bury the Seed and Feed Your Vow. She loves to create poems from 3 main ingredients: the raw material of everyday life, wholehearted and visceral listening, and the mind of meditation. For her poetry, Brooke is the recipient of the Charles B. Palmer prize from the Academy of American Poets.
She has taught at Naropa University in Yoga Studies and at the University of Colorado, Boulder in Dance. Brooke is president and a founding teacher at Dragon Lake Zen, and teaches in-person and online courses and retreats to facilitate the awakening of innate wisdom, compassion, artistry, and play. She lives in Boulder, CO with her husband, Rob, their two sons, Lundin and Orion.
WHAT TO EXPECT:
Awakening to the Poetic Retreat is an invitation to protect and vitalize your attention, nourish and fuel your imagination, and catalyze and unfurl your creations. Each day of retreat will include gentle guided yoga (optional) and morning meditation in the beautiful glass house, followed by breakfast and a 2-hour inspiring and connective writing workshop. The middle of each day will be open for relaxation, adventures, and creative flow. Late afternoons we'll reconvene for meditation and workshop time to read, write and connect. After dinner will be free flow time again ~ to dive deeper into your research and creations, or relax and play.
(see full schedule in the FAQ section at the bottom of this page.)
In these times of rapid change, challenge, and opportunity, it is vital that we connect in brave, supportive community to remind ourselves of the nutrients embedded in reality – the powerful ways that pain and loss carve through our beings, the delicious refreshment of beauty in all its forms, and the ultimate satisfaction of resting as our true nature: vast, unborn, and indestructible. Join Brooke in gorgeous Lana, Italy at the elegant and nourishing Schwarzschmied hotel and spa to awaken to the beauty and truth all around us.
Investment
The lowest, base price for the whole retreat is:
€ 1,620
This price is per person in a standard double room for 6 nights at the Schwarzschmied Hotel & Spa, and includes breakfast every morning at “La Fucina” restaurant onsite, all retreat activities led by Brooke (see full schedule in the FAQ section below), Grander water onsite, and a Mobilcard for usage of public transport.
From this price point, you may upgrade in many ways: for example, change the standard double room to a single, or choose from 13 different room categories! You may choose whichever you like the most from their wide selection.
You may also upgrade to half-board, which means that in addition to all breakfasts, you’ll have all dinners included from “La Fucina” onsite, or choose full-board for 3 meals a day included onsite.
To book your place in the retreat, you’ll pay 30% of the total booking price as a deposit (so € 486 for the base price) to fix your reservation. The rest gets paid at the day of check out from retreat, together with extras like beverages, massages etc. You’ll receive a Welcome email from Brooke within a week after booking, to which you can respond with roommate requests if you have them.
This retreat is limited to a maximum of 15 participants.
For support with any questions that come up in your booking process, please feel free to reach out to Franziska at info@schwarzschmied.com. She is very kind and helpful, and can ease your experience in finding the booking that feels right for you!
Earlybird Registration Deadline: December 15, 2024
Who is this retreat for?
This retreat is for anyone who is aching to come alive in their deeper knowing, intuition, creativity, and connection to other brave, soulful humans, and a new, beautiful, culturally-rooted place. It is designed for those who wish to press pause on the (perhaps wonderful) contexts and conditions that are associated with habitual ways of being, and enter a practice container where kindness, beauty, truthfulness, and wholeheartedness are values at the center. This retreat is for those brave souls who are ready to actively surrender to the treasure hunt for their unique gifts in this lifetime ~ those gifts to do with innate being, and those that ask for active creative participation.
More specifically, this retreat is for:
- Folks who want to perceive, think, imagine, and express in more inspired, poetic ways
- People who are actively working on a writing project or book manuscript and want to spend devoted time moving it forward or completing it
- Those who want to learn about and experience the fertile threshold between meditation and creative expression
- People who are at the cusp of a new life phase or identity shift who want to tend the transition ritually and well
- Serious seekers who want to awaken to their true nature here and now, and express from this place
- Adventurers who want rest, rejuvenation, soul-nourishment, human connection, and fun
Retreat Venue: Schwarzschmied Hotel
The Schwarzschmied Hotel is a member of the prestigious Design Hotel group, a curated collection of hotels from around the world that are privately owned, design-driven, and practice culturally-rooted hospitality.
About Schwarzschmied Hotel, from the Design Hotel website:
"With a passion for artistry and a keen eye for the delicate interplay of space, material, light, and color, designer Christina Biasi-von Berg has crafted spaces that radiate contemporary warmth yet also emit a timeless glow. Custom-made lamps by designer Harry Thaler and local, handwoven sheep’s wool carpets add both allure and local relevance."
"Originally built in 1981, the hotel was modernized recently to function as a home to holistic well-being and first-class design, art, and slow-food cuisine.
Regional materials, such as larch and spruce, as well as marble from the Vinschgau Valley and porphyry tiles from the Sarntal Valley, were used to grand effect in modernizing the hotel. Large windows let the inside and outside blend into one, while the public areas, especially the entrance area with reception and Bistro Luce, serve as a large “living room” for guests.
A 29-meter heated outdoor pool, a spa with signature treatments, and a Finnish outdoor sauna hold center stage."
"Massage and beauty treatments are done in complement with Susanne Kaufmann’s natural cosmetics at the hotel’s indulgent spa, while a steam bath, bio-sauna, and Finnish outdoor sauna activate bodily awareness, breathing, and flexibility. The outdoor pool includes a large sunbathing area with a pergola and a view of the vineyards. There is also a 10-meter indoor pool.
An historical village of churches and castles, Lana unfolds itself through architectural wonders and markets that celebrate the now."
WHAT BROOKE'S STUDENTS ARE SAYING:
"The combination of meditation and poetry continues to invite me into deep inner stillness, amplifying my capacity to listen and reflect, to move beyond the noise and chaos and witness my own quivering voice.”
~ Heather Baillie
“My expectations have continually been surpassed. Every week the balance between space and structure is delicately and sensitively facilitated by Brooke so that I have been delighted by the range and depth we have accomplished in a relatively short time.”
~ Priya Logan
Frequently Asked Questions
Friday, Sept 12:
3pm on - Check in to hotel
5-6 pm - Orientation and Meditation
6 pm on - Dinner and Personal Time
Saturday, Sept 13 - Wednesday, Sept 17:
7:15-8 am - Guided All Levels Yoga (optional)
8-9 am - Sitting and Walking Meditation
9-10 am - Breakfast and Personal Time
10 am - Noon - Awakening to the Poetic Writing Workshop
Noon - 4 pm - Rest, Self-directed Creative Time, Spa, Movement/Exercise, Explore the Local Areas
4-4:30 pm - Sitting Meditation
4:30-6 pm - Awakening to the Poetic Writing Workshop/ Co-working Integration Time
6pm on - Dinner and Personal Time (Celebratory gathering and sharing of writing on last night)
Thursday, Sept 18:
7:15-8 am - Guided All Levels Yoga (optional)
8-9 am - Sitting and Walking Meditation
9-10 am - Breakfast and Personal Time
10 -11 am - Integration and Closing Circle
Noon - Check out of hotel
The best way to arrive to Lana, Italy is by airplane to Innsbruck or Verona (which are both approximately the same distance from Lana), or you could fly to Bolzano airport which is 25 minutes from Lana. The train ride from both Verona and Innsbruck is about 2 hours long, and the hotel can organize a pick-up at Bolzano train station or Lana/Postal station.
- 7 days of programming in meditation, Awakening to the Poetic writing workshops, and optional morning yoga with award-winning poet, transmitted Zen teacher, and trained facilitator, Brooke McNamara (Friday, September 12 at 5pm through Thursday, September 18 at 11am)
- 6 nights stay at Schwarzschmied Hotel, in the room type you select (13 options)
- Breakfast daily (and also dinner and/or lunch should you upgrade to half-board or full-board) at “La Fucina” restaurant onsite.
- Use of beautiful hotel grounds, common spaces, heated outdoor pool and indoor pool, relaxation rooms, and vineyard and orchards for walking.
- Grander water in the entire house
- Mobilcard for usage of public transport
- Travel
- Lunch and dinner, unless you upgrade to include them
- Extra beverages
- Spa treatments
Guests are responsible for purchasing travel medical insurance and cancellation insurance which are strongly recommended. Purchasing travel insurance helps to mitigate any unexpected circumstances such as medical issues prior to traveling or while traveling, last minute flight cancellations or personal issues that might affect your trip. Retreat participants can look into rates and policies through www.travelguard.com.
All participants are required to sign a health & liability waiver in order to attend this retreat. This will be provided after registration and before arrival to retreat.
All participants are encouraged to purchase travel insurance. Please explore your options to purchase a premium policy with a Cancel For Any Reason contingency. Group travel bookings are not protected so it is the individual’s responsibility to protect their own investment. To get an immediate quote for travel insurance, visit Travel Insured.
Should you need to cancel your registration before July 12, 2025, you may receive a refund of your deposit minus 400 euro non-refundable deposit. No refunds will be granted after July 12.
All accommodations are booked through the Schwarzschmied Hotel at point of sale.
Please feel free to reach out to Franziska at the Schwarzschmied Hotel for any booking questions or details about the venue or food: info@schwarzschmied.com
Or, reach out to Brooke with any questions about programming for the retreat: BrookeJMcNamara@gmail.com
Sometimes you hear a voice through the door
calling you, as fish out of water
hear the waves, or a hunting falcon
hears the drum's Come back. Come back.
This turning toward what you deeply love
saves you. Read the book of your life,
which has been given you.
A voice comes to your soul saying,
Lift your foot. Cross over.
Move into emptiness
of question and answer and question.
~ Rumi
Please join us in Lana, Italy this September to awaken to the poetry of this life, and bring your unique gifts into form for our beautiful, aching world!