“People left saying that they would take that renewed sense of hope, of shared humanity, and of being newly in love with the world in a way that made them committed to saving it.”
— Alice Nelson on A Week in the Country 2025
We asked our guests to bring a book. A book that defines them in some way, that has been significant to who they are or how they live. On our first night all together at La Gonette, we sat around the dining room, introducing ourselves through these books. Telling stories, of the book and of ourselves. The books now sit in the La Gonette library, a piece of each of these brilliant people left with us.
Here’s the list.
The Pianist by Elfriede Jelinek
The Years by Annie Erneauz
Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie
The World Without Us by Mireille Juchau
Gastronomical Me by MFK Fisher
Question 7 by Richard Flanagan
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
An Everlasting Meal by Tamar Adler
Two Towns in Provence by MFK Fisher
Letters to Michael by Charles Phillipson
To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
French Provinçial Cooking by Elizabeth David
Every morning we’d meet for a two hour session with Michael. A discussion on writing, on reading, on words. Each day had a dedicated topic, from Character to Voice to Details. And each day had three corresponding readings. We’d discuss the particulars of three different short stories, and also used them as departure points for more general conversations.
How does any writer choose the most telling, revelatory details, out of a virtual infinity of possibilities? How does any writer structure a story so as to give it a momentum that holds from the first line to the last; and other topics.
In the Details
Apollo Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
It Had Wings by Alan Gurganus
Sticks by George Saunders
Voice
Haunting Olivia by Karen Russell
Lechery by Jane Anne Phillips
We Wanted More by Justin Torres
Structure
Terrific Mother by Lorrie Moore
Rapunzel by the Brothers Grimm
Rapunzel (a poem) by Anne Sexton
Something That Needs Nothing by Miranda July
Beginnings and Endings
In the Gloaming by Alice Eliot Dark Ghosts and Empties by Lauren Groff Walking Out by David Quammen
“Alice and her team of artists and artisans have created in La Gonette an oasis for writers that feeds body and soul. The attention to detail, reflected in lovingly prepared meals and the rhythms of each day, create space for reflection and creativity. Michael’s workshops and the conversations they inspired reconnected me with the pleasure and value of deep reading and have given me a new perspective on my work. And the warmth and generosity of each and every person there are touchstones I carry with me every day.”
“The world of words is an uncomfortable, at times also dark, slippery place where you can get lost, where you can feel terribly alone. Yet, when you are given the rare privilege of being able to share it with others who understand it, it can turn into a glimmering island, where every sensation is amplified and space seems to have no predefined form, and can at any moment transform into something new, something that has never existed before. This was ‘A week in a Country’ for me. A non-place in a non-time where I could explore words, study them, love them, share them, listen to them.”
“Facilitated by Michael Cunningham, and focused on reading and conversation, daily discussions were philosophical, pointed, funny, and thoughtful. Michael led us into the heart of questions around creativity: voice, detail, structure. We enjoyed deep thinking in a space that felt outside of time. On the first evening at La Gonette, the other guests and I admired the gardens and grounds and the feral, Eglantine roses. I love how unruly they’ve grown, and how they’ve only been gently cut back, leaving the wildness intact. It made me think about the creative process: how much do we achieve by allowing work to grow wild before editing? Put differently, in creative expression, whether visual, digital, or written, what are we trying to
preserve, and what must be pruned ?”
Creatives and Cooks, Harriet Davidson and Jeni Glasgow, prepared the week’s food along with local chef and sommelier Arie Teernik. Hours and hours were spent around the table — talking, eating, sipping, sharing a poem, sharing a song.
During the week we had two literary events. The first was at La Gonette. We opened the doors for a special in-conversation event in our gardens with author Christophe Lebold. Christophe was interviewed about his recently published book, Leonard Cohen: The Man Who Saw the Angels Fall by Charles Gurd, architect, artist, old friend of Leonard Cohen and long-time resident of Simiane-la-Rotonde.
The second was at Le Bleuet, the largest independent book store in the region, just ten minutes down the road in the heart of the charming village of Banon. This is a place that often hosts literary and cultural events for the community—this week, it was a talk with Michael and Alice. We wandered the weekly Saturday morning markets, had coffee at the local Café de la Union then took a seat on the terrace at Le Bleuet to hear Michael and Alice in conversation. They discussed the writing life and some of the essential questions of fiction.
And there were the visits to local producers and artists, including wine makers Mayra Saillen and Aristide Furrasola of Jas L’Agachet and artist
and olive oil producer,
Manon Monge.
Days to treasure, connections to treasure.
A most wonderful week.
We’d love to talk to you about joining our next
A Week in the Country, happening Spring 2026.
Applications opening here on August 18, 2025.