From the Farmhouse Table: March 2024
Alumna Claire Dederer first came to Hedgebrook in 2009. Since that time, she’s had three books published—including national bestseller, Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma—as well as numerous articles and essays. But we’re not just highlighting Claire for her writing success, or the fact that we’re excited for her upcoming Radical Craft Retreat (although we are!), but we want to recognize her for championing Hedgebrook and giving back to this organization in several ways.
Over the years, Claire has engaged with Hedgebrook as an instructor, participated in a Cottage Chat, and served as a reader in our adjudication process for our residency program. We appreciate Claire’s Radical Generosity for the time she has given to Hedgebrook since her residency. Claire will also be uplifting Hedgebrook with her upcoming virtual presence at EQUIVOX 2024. We’re excited for you to join us and hear what she, and other alumnae, have to share about their remarkable experiences at Hedgebrook. In the meantime, check out our Q&A below with Claire on the importance of supporting Hedgebrook and what it means to her.
HEDGEBROOK: There are so many worthy causes that need support right now. Why should people consider supporting Hedgebrook?
CLAIRE: We live in a world filled with cruelty and terror, and yet we somehow need to be full people in that world. Books teach us how. I’ve seen, over and over, books that are born from time at Hedgebrook—books that are vital, necessary, wild, serious, compassionate, weird, important, beautiful. We need books and stories and poems and songs and plays more than ever to remind us of our own humanity.
HEDGEBROOK: As both a former writer-in-residence and an instructor, how have each of these experiences shaped your perception of Hedgebrook? What has surprised you most about being part of the Hedgebrook community?
CLAIRE: Being a writer-in-residence was life-changing for me—I stayed at Hedgebrook while writing my first book. I had always worked as a journalist, and when I arrived at Hedgebrook, I thought of myself as a professional getting a job done. But each night at the farmhouse table, I found myself surrounded by artists. Talking with them made me look at my work a whole new way. I walked away from Hedgebrook a different, more ambitious, writer.
One of the biggest surprises is the strong friendship forged in just a week or two. I’ve been privileged to stay at Hedgebrook several times, as a writer and a teacher, and I have friendships forged at Hedgebrook that date back five, ten years. I’m on email threads with writers from all over the world; these connections are resilient.
As a teacher, I’ve seen the same thing: Students leave Hedgebrook as part of a community of writers.
HEDGEBROOK: Can you speak to the importance of Hedgebrook programs and the impact they have on writers?
CLAIRE: There is something truly magical about Hedgebrook—I know this is said over and over, but it’s true. The person who described it as “Narnia for writers” had it exactly right. The balance between solitude and community is, I think, what makes the place so special. The solitude necessary for a writer is an unending resource at Hedgebrook; it’s balanced by moments of connection, whether that’s at the table, on a path in the forest, or picking up wood at the woodpile. All writers can benefit from this magic, and retreats make it accessible to more people.
HEDGEBROOK: How do you apply what you learned about yourself as a writer to your writing life outside of Hedgebrook? What advice would you give to a new writer-in-residence just arriving at Hedgebrook?
CLAIRE: Hedgebrook has taught me the importance of opening conversations with all kinds of people; it’s taught me to sit in silence, however uncomfortable it might be, when confronted with new ideas; it truly has taught me that connection can be stronger than alienation.
I would tell a new writer-in-residence to sleep as much as she needs to! The world makes its endless demands of us—Hedgebrook, and its radical hospitality, want us to come to rest. Out of that rest can come something new and surprising and beautiful.