2024 total eclipse
In the path of the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse.
Here the skies are dark, the laughs are belly-deep, the wildlife is boisterous, and deep breaths of contentment live among the breezes in the bluffs.
Learn more about this land:
A Weekend of World-Class Poetry, Barbecue, & Beer
The only literary event of its kind!
Write. Eat. Drink. (Award-Winning Stuff. In Paradise.)
SPACE IS LIMITED
To register/book, select September 19 check-in and September 22 check-out. That adds up to the $389 fee and will secure your registration.
Quiddity International Literary Journal and NPR IL program is hosting a weekend of poetry master classes in conjunction with the legendary 17th Street BBQ’s 32nd annual “Praise the Lard!” Barbecue Championship Cookoff (one of the most pretigious cookoff events in the barbecue world) and the woodland paradise farmhouse brewery Scratch (specializing in foraged beer—a place All About Beer Magazine called “one of the most beautiful places to drink beer in the world”) in the gorgeous Southern Illinois Ozarks, a nature-lover’s nirvana.
Here’s the Lowdown:
- Poetry master classes and events will take place at sundry and wondrous locations in and around Murphysboro in the Illinois Ozarks. Heron House, a private home on Kinkaid Lake in Murphysboro in the Illinois Ozarks, will be the launching point and night-capping point for all events. Participants must be 21 or older.
- To register/book, select September 19 check-in and September 22 check-out. That adds up to the $389 fee and will secure your registration.
- Tent-camping at Heron House is voluntary and available to a limited number of registered participants (first-reserved w/ payment confirmed basis). Alternately, participants may elect to arrange other accommodations at their own expense.
- Campers should register here, through Hipcamp, as described above. Non-campers: Send us a message through Hipcamp.
- Participants will be enrolled in at least three poetry master classes held over the weekend. An open-mic event will also take place.
- Participants include some of the most intrepid poets on the planet: that’s you.
- Faculty include Allison Joseph, Jonathan Travelstead, Amy Sayre-Baptista, Jon Tribble, John McCarthy, & Joanna Beth Tweedy.
- Participants will be conveyed by party bus to multiple events taking place over the weekend:
- Master class held at 17th Street Bar & Grill
- Master class held at Scratch Brewery
- Master class held at Kinkaid Waterfall
- Open mic and additional master class opportunities TBD
- Formal and informal workshop opportunities held at Heron House
- Praise the Lard! Barbecue Cookoff Championship Buffet & Street Party (Friday evening)
- Praise the Lard! Fish Fry Buffet (Thursday evening)
- Additional on-your-own opportunities for writing, reflecting, hiking, boating, skiing, canoeing, kayaking, fishing, swimming (rent ahead or bring your own equipment) are available in the area but not sponsored by Quiddity.
- Events will take place on September 19 (pm), September 20th (am/pm), 21st (am/pm), and 22nd (am).
- Campers are welcome to arrive anytime Thursday the 19th for camping set-up before the evening fish fry, and campers are welcome to stay through the 23rd. Prefer to extend your stay beyond that to do other cool things? Just inquire!
- The $389 registration fee covers all master classes and workshops, the fish-fry and championship-barbecue buffets held on Thursday and Friday evenings, group party-bus transportation to and from the events, coffee in the morning and campfire treats at night at Heron House, and miscellaneous “party favors.”
- Other meals may be purchased or brown-bagged (participants’ expense/responsibility).
- Payment is due at the time of reservation. A signed release of liability is required and may be signed on-site and accessed beforehand.
- Cancellations made on or before August 18, 2019, will receive a 50% refund. Cancellations made after August 18, 2019, will not receive a refund.
- Participants only will be allowed at the Quiddity classes and workshops as well as on the party bus.
- There will be beer available at most events. Participants must use party bus for transport to events.
Things for Non-Campers to Know
- Registered participants who are not camping are welcome to arrive at Heron House early for coffee in the mornings and stay late for campfire treats.
- Transportation to/from Heron House is on your own. All participants must use the party bus for transportation to/from events.
Things for Campers to Know
- Camping is on private property, is conducted at-your-own-risk, and is not considered accessible, but should you like to discuss accessibility options, please inquire!
- Free coffee in the morning for early risers ('til it's gone), and free campfire treats in the evening
- Please feel free to bring instruments for around the campfire. There will be moonshine to pass.
- Camping is intended to be a fun, social event—i.e., you will have camping neighbors. Toward that end, friendly outdoor cats live on-site and may visit you.
- Self-sustaining cooking/campfire equipment welcome as long as it is in a contained unit that is raised off of the ground (please, no fires or dig pits on/in the ground—thanks!)
- Loading and unloading from vehicles can take place on-site; the parking lot is roughly a quarter of a mile away, within walking distance.
- Power is not available on-site for electric generators, and for the courtesy of others, gas-powered generators are not permitted. RV camping is available (for a fee) close to Heron House. Please inquire if you are interested in this option.
- Please prepare for all weather possibilities. Events and camping are on, rain or shine.
Other Aesthetics
- Multiple gorgeous hiking trails—from easy to rigorous—and biking opportunities close by
- Walking distance to Kinkaid Marina, which has a restaurant, bar, laundry (coin), showers, and convenience shop
- Fishing docks within walking distance
- Beautiful lakeside and sunset strolls
- Scads of wineries in the area, including the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail
- The area is a nature lover’s paradise, surrounded by national forest and state parks and stunning beauty.
Eat world-championship barbecue!
Drink award-winning beer!
Steep yourself in nature!
Craft your poetic legacy.
Get ready for a literary event like no other. We look forward to passing the moonshine with you!
