poetry + environmental science + community =
a joyful rising in our climate-changed world
News & Upcoming Events:
Our website has still to be updated, but the dates for our second gathering is set for October 4-10, 2027. Applications will be open April 13-May 11. Please check back in early 2027 for more details!
Poets & Writers published a feature about Hellbender and our mission. You can read that piece here.
The Dark Mountain Project published an essay on the origins of Hellbender called “A Story in Three Floods.” You can read that piece here.
Hellbender’s first collaborative effort—a short documentary with the intention of speaking for the Swannanoa River a year after Hurricane Helene—was featured in Orion Magazine. Read about that project and watch the film here.
Our 2026 Poetry Faculty (details on our 2027 faculty soon to come!)
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David Baker
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Camille Dungy
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Jane Hirshfield
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Tim Seibles
We believe in the transformative power of poetry to rise up during these most challenging times, and we nurture those who are determined—hellbent—to find words that protect, repair, and bear witness to this earth and our non-human kin of plants and animals.
Come. Join us.
Alone, each of us is one person. But together we are a chorus of voices heard over the coming storms.
