Robinson Jeffers Tor House Foundation Fall Festival 2026
"Shine, Perishing Republic" is a poem Jeffers wrote over one hundred years ago and published in his breakthrough book Roan Stallion, Tamar and Other Poems (1925). Our festival this year will consider the meaning and legacy of this prophetic poem as well as the fraught connection 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.
What is 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? What insights, what forewarnings, can be found in Jeffers's seminal poem?
A distinguished panel of speakers will share their thoughts on these and other questions during the Saturday seminars at the Woman's Club in Carmel. See the full schedule and speaker biographies below.
- Tor House Sunset Celebration, $35, reservation required.
- Saturday seminars: free. Optional box lunch: $25, reservation required for box lunch, not for seminars.
- Saturday reception and dinner: $95, reservation required.
- Sunday Pt. Lobos poetry/geology walk with Aaron Yoshinobu: $50, reservation required.
See website for more event details and to make reservations.