Dreaming Ourselves Dark and Deep Day Writing Retreats are half-day immersive gatherings that provide Black women and attendees with cultural grounding, extended creative time, and collective restoration. Each retreat follows a structure that includes:

Intention setting and mood creation
A literary lecture led by a guest expert
Shared readings from Black women authors
Guided dialogue and creative writing prompts
Extended writing time paired with communal meals
Closing reflection and optional sharing

These retreats are designed to limit financial and cultural barriers and to provide access to restorative, retreat-based literacy and wellness spaces. Each retreat results in creative outputs such as poems, personal declarations, essays, recipe narratives, and intergenerational storytelling artifacts.

The 2026 inaugural retreat season centers on the following themes:

• Colorism and inherited wounds (inspired by The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison)
• Reclaiming girlhood (inspired by Sassafras, Cypress, and Indigo by Ntozake Shange)
• Love and erotic autonomy (inspired by Secret Life of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw)
• Herbalism and ancestral remedies (inspired by Mama Day by Gloria Naylor)
• Gendered emotional heaviness (inspired by Heavy by Kiese Laymon and How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair )
• Complex womanhood in communion (inspired by Water Bearers by Sasha Bonet)

Retreat information coming soon!