Sean Murphy
Moveable Feast: A Vision for 2023—and Beyond
We understand that beyond having time and space to work, so many writers are derailed by a lack of solidarity. A community that advocates (and, on a more basic but crucial level, understands) creativity—how it happens, what it requires, who seeks to cultivate it more as calling than hobby—is essential. Each individual must ascertain and walk their unique path, but what all writers share is the need for support, in all its forms, and reassurance they’re not alone.
1455’s Moveable Feast initiative enables us to partner with existing venues and organizations, providing opportunities for storytellers to find authentic space to create and connect. The core market for Moveable Feast is the type of person who appreciates the arts and is interested in the sort of community commonly found only in academia or online book clubs. Word will spread and this growing alliance will become an inexorable network, offering kinship otherwise unobtainable.
Of course, being alone, or at least minimally distracted, is important for productivity, but what about the need for feedback, for camaraderie, for sanity? Yes, validation is essential, and often in short supply. But serious writers (or writers who take their writing as seriously as their lives) need and, more importantly, want feedback: constructive criticism, ideally within an intimate environment wherein they can test-drive their prose and poems in progress, to see if it passes the “reading” test. There’s no quantifiable formula for this, but anyone who has read anything in front of other writers understands what does (or doesn’t) happen.
A thriving literary arts center ideally becomes a destination, a prolific alliance where diverse but likeminded artisans come to create. Each day new works are shaped and revised, and the world is rewarded, accordingly. And then, the idea of works in progress aptly describes what’s written, and what’s being lived.
1455 is proud to include Vermont’s Prospect Street as a Moveable Feast founding partner. I was fortunate to meet its founder, V Hansmann, when his center was in the earliest stages, and I’ve watched it transform from an idea to a series of blueprints, to a masterwork of dedication and purpose. I’ll allow him to describe what has become his life’s work (see the following feature), and I’ll share some candid photos of my recent visit. Bennington Vermont is the ideal locale, a true four-seasons destination that combines natural beauty, a rich historic tradition, and the perfect vibe. Prospect Street is the right place in the right town and the right time. I’m looking forward to collaborating with V to add to our growing community and maybe we’ll see you there, soon.
PROSPECT STREET GALLERY
Sean Murphy is the Founder and Executive Director of 1455. He has been publishing fiction, poetry, reviews (of music, movie, book, food), and essays on the technology industry for almost twenty years. To learn more about Sean Murphy’s writing, please visit seanmurphy.net.
Website: seanmurphy.net
Twitter: @bullmurph
Instagram: @bullmurph
Facebook: facebook.com/AuthorSeanMurphy
Moveable Feast consists of a consortium of partners, including Todos Santos Writers’ Workshop, Karbohemia, Prospect Street, Martha’s Vineyard and more, offering a series of retreats for writers at a discounted rate for the 1455 community.
Stay updated on Moveable Feast at 1455litarts.org/moveable-feast
