I wished to dive into some deep stream of thoughtful and devoted life, which meandered through retired and fertile meadows far from towns. I wished...to lurk in crystalline thought like the trout under verdurous banks, where stray humankind should only see my bubble come to the surface. I wished to live, ah! as far away as a person can think.
—H. D. Thoreau, 1851
The Margery Davis Boyden Wilderness Writing Residency is a unique opportunity for a writer or pair of writers seeking a lengthy spell of unparalleled solitude for work and personal refreshment. In exchange for an hour a day of routine caretaking (on balance, 180 hours for the duration of an average six-month residency), the resident receives use of a remote, small but comfortable house situated on an old homestead in the Rogue River backcountry of southwestern Oregon. The residency comes with the support of a $5000 stipend. The annual residency typically runs from the beginning of April through the end of October, entrance and exit dates varying with seasonal weather conditions. With proper planning the resident(s) may choose to extend the residency through the winter. The program is administered by Langdon Cook in association with Bradley and Frank Boyden, brothers and cofounders of the program. Bradley co-owns the homestead property with his two adult children..
The Dutch Henry Homestead is located within the federally designated wild and scenic corridor of the Rogue River, one of the original twelve rivers included in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act in 1968. The property, approximately 35 miles northwest of Grants Pass as the crow flies, is remote and isolated, accessible only by back roads, or the Rogue River Trail. The homestead consists of 95 acres of meadow and forest situated on the northern slope of the canyon the Rogue River has formed for itself through the steep, forested terrain of the Klamath Mountains. The homestead is surrounded by public lands administered as wilderness by the Bureau of Land Management. The immediate vicinity consists of undisturbed mature and old-growth forest. Wildlife – deer, black bears, wild turkeys, bobcats, the occasional cougar – abounds, as does silence..
The homestead property is off-grid and primitively developed. Two small wood-frame houses are located on the homestead; one serves as a dwelling for writer-residents, the other for visits by the owners. The houses are furnished with wood stoves for heating; propane for cooking, refrigeration and lighting; and indoor plumbing with water supplied by a developed and dependable spring. A large fenced area containing a modest orchard is available for gardening. The resident’s house is furnished with a modern solar panel sufficient to power a lap-top computer and other small appliances. The river is accessible via a ¾-mile trail. Of the two nearest neighbors, one is two miles distant by road and the other is four miles distant by trail.
