Save the date for the 2026 Tor House Foundation Fall Festival
October 16 - 18 2026
Our Theme: “Shine, Perishing Republic”
With the midterm elections on the horizon, the planning committee for the 2026 Tor House Foundation Fall Festival thought it worthwhile to examine the fraught relationship between art and politics. Jeffers himself addressed the issue in “The Poet in a Democracy,” a lecture he presented at the Library of Congress in 1941, on the brink of World War II. With that lecture in mind and with “Shine, Perishing Republic” (published by Jeffers just over a hundred years ago) serving as our title poem, we would like to look more closely at the role of poetry in public life.
What unique responsibilities do poets bear?
What did Jeffers see when he looked back at the history of the United States and forward to its future, while living through an ever-fretful present?
How does Jeffers speak to us today?
A distinguished panel of speakers—including historian Richard Kezirian; poets Katie Peterson, Jesse Nathan, and André Naffis-Sahely; philosopher Matthew Calarco; literary scholar Susan Shillinglaw; and art historian Laura diZerega—will share their thoughts on these and other questions during the Saturday seminars at the Woman’s Club in Carmel.
More event details to follow for the Friday Sunset Festival, Saturday dinner, and Sunday event!