Scenes from the Seminars

The Writing Seminars residencies offer an utterly immersive retreat from the rest of the world—a retreat in which workshops and symposia are conducted, friendships are born, and batteries are charged. Photos by Star Black.

Bennington Review

First published in January 1996 with the Writing Seminars’ inaugural class, The Bennington Review is a biannual, student-edited anthology of graduating students’ work. Originally entitled Tesserae—an ancient term used to describe the small cubes or tiles of a mosaic—a new volume of the book is released and celebrated each residency. “The Reviews are a combination of talent, dedication, and hard work,” says BWS Associate Director Victoria Clausi. “We’re proud of these books, and proud of our talented graduates, whose work is preserved in each volume.”

Campus Gallery

The Bennington College campus is known for its expansive beauty, critically acclaimed architecture, and rich history. Routinely named one of the nation’s most beautiful campuses by The Princeton Review, the College is also celebrated for its vibrant intellectual community and distinctive classroom experience.

Around Town

There are plenty of things to do and sites to see in the Bennington area. You may be an art enthusiast, a history buff, an outdoors person, or a shopping guru. Whatever your tastes, you are sure to find an outing that suits you in Bennington and the surrounding areas.

Low-Residency Format

Twice a year, in January and June, Writing Seminars students and faculty gather on the Bennington campus for residencies. Both students and faculty stay in houses on campus and take meals together in the College Dining Hall. What follows—10 intensive days of readings, lectures, workshops, events, seminars, and other activities—is a striking contrast to the six months of solitary work between residencies, and is meant to be.

Visiting writers also come by residencies to give readings, discussions of their work, and lectures. Those who have given readings in recent years include Frank Bidart, Robert Bly, Jamaica Kincaid, Mary Gaitskill, Vivian Gornick, Galway Kinnell, Susanna Kaysen, Francine Prose, David Shields, Thomas Lynch, Valerie Martin, Jean Valentine, Jane Hirshfield, Michael Krüger, and Yusef Komunyakaa.

Musical performers have included Loudon Wainwright III, David Broza, Celtic Thunder, Syd Straw, Diane Scanlon, Wesley Stace, and Marshall Chapman.

Visiting actors include Monique Fowler, who performed a play about Elizabeth Bishop’s years in Brazil, and Philip Seymour Hoffman.