“…it is our dreams that point the way to freedom. They are made realizable through our poems that give us the strength and courage to see, to feel, to speak, and to dare.”
—Audre Lorde, “Poetry Is Not a Luxury”
Welcome to The Dream Side
We are friends and writers who want to enter the act of creation from the dream side. Our dream is a collaboration that allows us to teach, learn, and grow together. We want to share with you the ideas, strategies, and approaches that have deepened our own writing practices, while providing opportunities to foster artistic friendships of your own. More than a writing course, The Dream Side offers a new entry into your writing practice, and encourages living creative communities. We want to invite you into the wilderness of creation and share with you the resources that will allow you to play fearlessly there.
We offer retreats and courses, both in-person and online, that create a protected space for you to take risks and generate new work, revitalize, nurture, and deepen your creative life, and help you become the writer you dream of being.
You may be an experienced writer. You may have only begun to explore this side of yourself. You might be somewhere in between. See you on The Dream Side.
Beliefs and Principles
We believe that there are as many ways to create a meaningful piece of writing as there are writers themselves. We believe that craft exists to give shape to the wildness of our dreaming. We believe that the act of writing is the act of paying attention: it is not trivial, but joyously essential. We believe that we work best entangled in the world and embedded in community. We prioritize curiosity, openness, and kindness. We practice generosity toward ourselves and others. We believe exercising our imaginations is necessary for societal change. And we are guided by playfulness and pleasure. Dreaming is hard, fun work.
Our teaching philosophy is inspired by June Jordan's Poetry for the People, Ruth Asawa’s community art engagements, Liz Lerman's “Critical Response Process,” and our own experiences as working artists and perennial students. Our offerings are unique, exploratory events that aim to inspire connection to yourself, one another, and the wider world.
“Every day is a reenactment of the creation story. We emerge from dense unspeakable material, through the shimmering power of dreaming stuff.”
—Joy Harjo, “A Postcolonial Tale”
The Dream Side is...
Meng is drawn to fiction with surprising, elegant shapes and stylish, direct sentences. She is an omnivorous reader, with tastes ranging from the documentary novels of Annie Ernaux to the fantastical worlds of Octavia Butler, an ardent admirer of poetry and a follower of Ursula K Le Guin’s “clear, clean line.” Unfortunately for her writing, she loves writing about writing (metafictions, art criticism and ars poetica, translation theory, etc). However this is fortunate for her teaching; she is often thinking about why and how we write.
Rachel is interested in the imaginative impulse that brings to being what has never existed before: whether a home-cooked meal or piece of fiction. Imagination isn’t reserved for fiction: it shapes our realities, and ultimately our world. She believes it’s imperative to practice it—ideally together. She brings her experience in space- and community-building to The Dream Side. She’s fascinated by the often contradictory foundations of art: surrender and discipline, pleasure and devotion, the mystical and practical, solitude and community.
Susanna is drawn to the connections between forms: words in a sentence, people in a city, water and land. Relationships are sites teeming with history, tension, possibility, and shape—all of which she sees as essential and thrilling elements of a written work. She’s also interested in creativity as a shifting practice of engaging with the shifting world. In her teaching, she hopes to help students cultivate their attention to that unstable world, explore interconnectedness, and move toward mystery.
As a writer and a teacher, Shruti is interested in exploring the edge between dream and reality—the world of the unconscious brought into the conscious world of language. In her own work, that’s led her to thinking about non-linear forms of storytelling. She is currently years into exploring the possibilities of the spiral as a literary form. Shruti’s background in yoga and meditation has also sparked an interest in writing as both a physical and a spiritual practice, explored through workshops that draw from the lived experience of the body.
“Everything dreams. The play of form, of being, is the dreaming of substance. Rocks have their dreams, and the earth changes.”
—Ursula K Le Guin, The Lathe of Heaven
Current Offerings
March 29–April 3, 2026 in Oregon
Green Hours: A Five-Night Retreat
January 2026–December 2026 [Applications Closed]
Yes, Molecule: A 12-Month Online Novel Generator
Past Offerings
August 9–10, 2025 in San Francisco
Rewilding Craft: A Generative Writing Retreat
GREEN HOURS: a five-night retreat
with The Dream Side
March 29 to April 3, 2026
A five-night generative writing retreat at the Steamboat Inn in the lush, riverine landscape of Southern Oregon, with award-winning writers Meng Jin, Rachel Khong, Susanna Kwan, and Shruti Swamy, and a like-minded community of artists
Green hours to write
Green hours to find new ways into your writing
Green hours to reconnect with the natural world
Green hours to pause from screens, alerts, and devices
Green hours to grow your practice in community
Green hours to read, imagine, and dream
What it is
The retreat of our dreams: five nights in the Umpqua National Forest, along a rushing river and what is known as the “waterfall highway.” Each day starts with a generative writing class to provide focus and inspiration, then moves into optional afternoon activities to get us out into nature and out of our own heads, communal dinners to engage with other writers, and most of all, the rare opportunity to think, dream, read, and write—to rest and simply be. These are Green Hours, which don’t follow clock time—spacious days in which writing arises from deep presence and immersion in the natural world. The Steamboat Inn provides both verdant surroundings and a cherished constraint: very limited wi-fi and no cell service on its grounds—giving us all the opportunity to unplug and exist in the world of the forest, the world of our writing, and the community we create together.
Our program
Our mid-morning generative classes take inspiration from the surrounding landscape: rivers, rocks, trees, and the webs and relationships of the natural world, as well as the inner landscapes of our dreams. Our approach is both grounded and expansive, blending craft discussion with exploration. We’ll provide practical instruction alongside guided prompts for experimentation and reflection.
In addition to morning classes, we’ll have afternoon activities and low-key evening events designed to help you connect with other writers and feel part of the community.
You’ll leave with new pages and new insights, and a renewed sense of connection to language, place, other writers, and yourself. Our hope is that you may also find a rare quiet—the kind that comes from stepping away from the obligations of daily life. We’ll trade screens, headlines, and social media for rivers, trees, and Green Hours.
Your instructors are four working writers whose books and ideas have been shaped by our friendship. Read more about us here. Read more about our teaching philosophy here.
Who is this for
Writers at all levels are welcome. We’re fiction writers, and our classes lean in that direction, but poets, essayists, and writers of other forms will find plenty of cross-pollination. This retreat is for those who agree that good work often grows out of a mix of quiet hours and unexpected conversations. It is for anyone seeking time and space to focus on their work—whether you’re deep in a draft or revision, or looking to rekindle a creative spark. Come with curiosity, patience, and a sense of play. Come with a project you’re stuck on or the beginnings of a new idea—or just come as you are and see what grows in our time together. The retreat will be limited to 34 writers.
Where you’ll find us
We’ll gather at the Steamboat Inn in southern Oregon, a 2-hour drive from Eugene and a ~3.5-hour drive from Portland, situated in a bend of the North Umpqua River. We have a number of options from shared accommodations to solo suites, which you can learn more about here. Please be aware that we will be expecting rain at this time of year. And come prepared to disconnect: there is no cellphone reception and very limited Wi-Fi. A landline and Wi-Fi are available only in the main building.
What is included
The retreat fee ranges from $3,128 to $4,565 depending on accommodation. Room and board, and all workshops and activities, are covered by your registration fee. All meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) will be provided by the award-winning Steamboat Inn restaurant: locally sourced and attentive to any dietary restrictions. You are responsible for your travel to and from the Inn (though we are happy to help connect people who would like to carpool).
Our cancellation policy
To reserve your place, we require a $1,000 nonrefundable deposit. We strongly recommend purchasing travel insurance in case of illness or unforeseen events. Unfortunately, we’re not able to offer refunds.
Apply
Our application is simple and does not require a writing sample. Rooms are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis, and options will be removed as they fill. We encourage you to apply early to secure your preferred accommodations. We are currently accepting applications, which will be reviewed on a rolling basis until all spots are filled. The deadline to apply is March 1, 2026.
Questions?
We’re happy to answer them. Email hello@thedreamside.com