“There’s a crack, a crack in everything.
That’s how the light gets in.”
Point Reyes Artist: Unknown.
Lyrics: Leonard Cohen.

“Return to the Mountain:

Tracks to New Mythologies”

A Conference

for Friends & Members

of the North American Section

for the Literary Arts & Humanities

of the School for Spiritual Science

San Francisco: May 9-12, 2025

Click Here to Register 

Is it possible to buy a ticket to only a single day or to individual lectures or single performances? 

Yes. It is possible to attend the two evening performances as individual events. The performances on Friday and Saturday night will be open to the public. Donations accepted at the door. And yes, due to the importance and unique variety of our topics and themes at this critical time, we encourage persons who want to join us for a single day or portion of a day. We welcome you, and we ask that you make a fair-value donation at the door. Our Section activities rely on donations from anonymous persons who believe in this Section of the School and its work. We do not receive money from Dornach or from the Anthroposophical Societies in Canada or the USA. We do not collect member dues. Our only source of income, aside from donations, is monies from conferences such as the one last year and this year.

Conference Schedule**

Day 1: Friday Evening: May 9 / 7:30 pm / Festive Opening

Location: Swedenborgian Church, 2107 Lyon Street, San Francisco

Theme of the Day: “Every disease is a musical problem; every cure is a musical solution.” — Novalis

Emmanuel Vukovich: Solo Violin Recital / “Resilience”

Music Program: Bach (Partita No. 2); Bartok (Solo Violin Sonata); Sheila Silver (Resilient Earth Caprices; composed for Emmanuel Vukovich); Sofia Gubaidulina (Dialogue: Ich und Du, Solo Cadenza).

Day 2: Saturday: May 10 / 9:30 am – 9:00 pm

Location: Swedenborgian Church, 2107 Lyon Street, San Francisco

Theme of the Day: “Return to the Mountain: Tracks to New Mythologies”

Presenters: Bruce Donehower, Christiane Haid, Section Poets and Poetry Lovers, Andrew Schelling, Daniel Polikoff, John Bloom, Jeff Hipolito, Karen Gierlach, Emmanuel Vukovich

8:45 – 9:30 Arrivals. Coffee and Snacks will be available.
9:30: Start of Conference / Bruce Donehower: Words of Welcome; Conference Overview
9:45 – 10:30 Presentation by Bruce Donehower / “Return to the Mountain: Tracks to New Mythologies”
10:30 – 11:00 Poem Presentations by Section Poets and Poetry Lovers
11:00 – 11:10 Break
11:10 – 12:00 Presentation by Christiane Haid / “The Crucial Importance of Art and Beauty to the Practice of Anthroposophy”
12:00 – 1:00 Lunch served on site
1:00 – 3:00 Presentation by Andrew Schelling / “Tracks Along the Left Coast: Jaime de Angulo & Pacific Coast Culture” with discussion & Q/A
3:00 – 3:15 Break
3:15 – 5:30 Small Groups / Discussion / Workshops / Persons can participate in two groups, if they wish; one hour for each group. Indicate your preferences when you register. 

• Daniel Polikoff / “Orpheus. Eurydice, Rilke: The Path of a Modern Poet”
• John Bloom and Christiane Haid: “The Work of Anthroposophy in our 21st Century; “What is the School for Spiritual Science; What are its Tasks in our 21st Century?”
• Jeff Hipolito: “Where are the Scholars? Owen Barfield & the Word”
• Karen Gierlach / Biography Workshop

3:15 – 4:15 First Group Selection Choice Meets
4:15 – 4:30 Break
4:30 – 5:30 Second Group Selection Choice Meets

5:30 – 6:00 Gathering & Wrap up / Poems by Section Poets & Conference Participants

6:00 – 7:00 Dinner served on site
7:00 – 7:30 “lend a hand” / clean up

7:30 – 9:00 Performance   “Hymns to the Night; Novalis”

Musician Emmanuel Vukovich (Performing Arts) and Bruce Donehower (Literary Arts) will present a collaborative performance of this very important poem in a fresh translation for our 21st century. 

Day 3: Sunday May 11 / 10:00 am – 3:15 pm

Location: San Francisco Waldorf High School / 470 West Portal Avenue

Theme of the Day: “Who is Rudolf Steiner for Our 21st Century?”

Presenters: SF Waldorf High School Students, Joan Caldarera, Christiane Haid, John Bloom, Robert McDermott, Jeff Hipolito, Emmanuel Vukovich, Bruce Donehower, Gayle Davis.

10:00 – 10:30 Reflections from SF Waldorf High School Students; Joan Caldarera, moderator.
10:30 – 11:30 Small group discussions led by SF Waldorf High School Students.
11:30 – 12:30 Refreshment Break on site
12:30 – 3:00 Panel Discussion on Theme of the Day
12:30 – 1:15 Keynote Presentation by Christiane Haid. / “Rudolf Steiner: North American” followed by:
Panel Discussion with: John Bloom, Robert McDermott, Christiane Haid, Jeff Hipolito, Emmanuel Vukovich, Bruce Donehower, Gayle Davis
3:00 – 3:15 Closing Remarks / Invitation to the next day’s events

Dinner is on your own or as arranged during the day with other friends and members.

Day 4: Monday May 12

Location: Mt. Tamalpais in Marin County, California

Theme of the Day: “Spirit Explorations on Mt. Tam”

Daytime / Two Options:

1) Circumambulation of Mt. Tamalpais (Bruce will lead; early morning to dusk)

     Or, for those who do not want to hike 12 miles with steep elevations

2) Artistic Explorations at Rock Spring, Amphitheater, & Mt. Tam Summit facilitated by Emmanuel Vukovich and Section Artists and Poets

Dinner is on your own or as arranged during the day with other friends and members.

Evening / 7:00 to Closing

Meetup, Party, Music, and Poetry Jam at Rachael Staudt’s Gallery in Sausalito.

** Conference Schedule is subject to revision, so please keep an eye on it. Things change. “There’s a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.”

Click Here to Register

“Once I was asked in front of a television camera: Who is the most important person you ever met? And I remember answering: a mountain. I thus discovered that Tamalpais was at the very center of my being.”

 

— Etel Adnan, poet and painter, dweller on Mt. Tamalpais; from Journey to Mt. Tamalpais

 

Click Here to Register

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the Conference Themes?

1) “Return to the Mountain: Tracks to New Mythologies” / exploring the uniqueness of bio-regional poetics in North America & the importance of North American literature and poetics for anthroposophy in our 21st century.

2) Novalis and the significance of Novalis for the Literary Arts & Humanities of the School for Spiritual Science in our 21st century.

Premier performance of Hymns to the Night by Novalis in a fresh translation for our 21st century / with Emmanuel Vukovich (Performing Arts) and Bruce Donehower (Section for the Literary Arts & Humanities).

3) “Who is Rudolf Steiner for Our 21st Century?”

An Exploration with Section members and friends, San Francisco Waldorf High School students, Section leader Christiane Haid, John Bloom, Joan Caldarera, Section leadership council members, scholars, poets, artists, musicians, and conference participants.

Who are the Presenters?

All the conference presenters and musicians and poets and scholars are persons who are closely associated with the work of the Section and/or the themes of this conference. In order of mention on the Conference Schedule, they include:

Bruce Donehower: Bruce is the North American representative to the Goetheanum for the Section for the Literary Arts & Humanities of the School for Spiritual Science. Click here for more information.

Section Poets & Poetry Lovers: These are friends and members of the Section who regularly contribute and participate actively in the ongoing Section meetings that have originated from Northern California since 2010. Click this sentence for more information on Section Poetry Nights.

Christiane Haid: Christiane is the leader of the Section for the Literary Arts & Humanities of the School for Spiritual Science at the Goetheanum (Sektion für Schöne Wissenschaften). She is the publisher of Stil magazine. Click this sentence for more information on Christiane.

Andrew Schelling: Andrew is a scholar, poet, and translator currently teaching at Naropa University in Boulder, CO. Click here for more information. Andrew will highlight his book “Tracks Along the Left Coast” during his talk at the conference. He will join us for a CircumTam on Monday.

Daniel Polikoff: Daniel is a poet, translator, and internationally known Rilke scholar. He teaches at the Pacifica Graduate Institute. Click this sentence for more information on Daniel.

John Bloom: John is the former General Secretary of the Anthroposophical Society in America. He is a visual artist active with serving anthroposophical initiatives such as Spirit Matters and General Section events. Click this sentence for more information on John and Spirit Matters.

Jeffrey Hipolito: Jeff is member of the Section leadership team and a member of the conference planning group. He is a teacher and independent scholar living in Seattle, and he recently published two books on Owen Barfield. Click this sentence for more information. Jeff is the chairperson of the Owen Barfield Society.

Karen Gierlach: Karen received her Waldorf teacher training at Emerson College in England. She has taken the social art of biography to diverse communities in several countries.

Emmanuel Vukovich: Click this sentence for information on Canadian violinist Emmanuel Vukovich.

San Francisco Waldorf High School Students. Click this sentence for more information. 

Joan Caldarera: Joan is a founder of San Francisco Waldorf High School and a master teacher of the humanities at the high school. She is a member of the Section leadership group and member of the conference planning group. Click this sentence for more information. 

Robert McDermott: Robert is a member of the Section leadership group and the former president of California Institute for Integral Studies. Click this sentence for more information on Robert.

Gayle Davis: Gayle is a member of the Section leadership group and a member of the conference planning group. She is the former president of Rudolf Steiner College in Fair Oaks, CA.

Rachael Staudt: Rachael is an artist and member of the Section leadership group and planning group for this conference. She works as an archivist at the Robinson Jeffers Tor House in Carmel, CA. Rachael was instrumental to the planning and success of the 2024 conference in San Francisco.

Where does the Conference happen?

San Francisco and Marin. On Friday night and Saturday all day and evening we will use the Swedenborgian Church. The Swedenborgian Church, a National Historic Monument, is located in Pacific Heights, near the Presidio at 2107 Lyon Street, San Francisco. On weekends, street parking is not regulated in Pacific Heights and is much more available than during the week; however, the hills are quite steep. You might want to consider übering to the Church, back and forth. (Or if you are signed up for Waymo in SF, you can use the app to have a self-driving car pick you up.) On Sunday we are using the San Francisco Waldorf High School at 470 West Portal Avenue, San Francisco. On Monday during the day we will be outside on the slopes of Mt. Tamalpais and during the evening we will be at Rachael Staudt’s gallery in Sausalito at 200 Gate 5 Road, Suite 110, Sausalito.

How do I make arrangements for overnight stay in San Francisco?

Rachael Staudt, a member of our conference planning committee, has recommended the Holiday Inn Express in MIll Valley. The Hotel Drisco is within short walking distance to the Swedenborgian Church. The Laurel Inn on California Street is a 7-minute walk. San Francisco and the outer surrounding areas have many overnight options. Check online.

Is it possible to buy a ticket to only a single day or to individual lectures or single performances? 

Yes. It is possible to attend the two evening performances as individual events. The performances on Friday and Saturday night will be open to the public. Donations accepted at the door. And yes, due to the importance and unique variety of our topics and themes at this critical time, we encourage persons who want to join us for a single day or portion of a day. We welcome you, and we ask that you make a fair-value donation at the door. Our Section activities rely on donations from anonymous persons who believe in this Section of the School and its work. We do not receive money from Dornach or from the Anthroposophical Societies in Canada or the USA. We do not collect member dues. Our only source of income, aside from donations, is monies from conferences such as the one last year and this year.

Who do I email if I have questions?

Email the conference planners: SectionConference2025@gmail.com

Help! I changed my mind! Can I get a refund?

No refunds are possible after March 31 for any reason. We are running this conference on a very tight budget. Prior to March 31, contact SectionConference2025@gmail.com. Your refund will be paid after registration has closed and funds become available.

“Are there scholarships for the conference? Can I apply for travel assistance?”

Some limited funds may be available, but this depends on registrations and donations. Last year the generous donations of a few anonymous Section members allowed us to provide scholarship assistance. This year, we’re not sure. Persons must register to be considered for assistance. Assistance, if available, will be allocated according to order of requests. You need to have registered and to have paid for registration in order to be considered for assistance. Contact SectionConterence2025@gmail.com

“Are meals included in the conference fee for San Francisco?”

Snacks and coffee will be available throughout the day on Saturday. There will be a mostly vegetarian lunch and dinner offering on Saturday and a light refreshment at noon on Sunday. These are included in the registration price.

How do I become a “member” of the Section?

The Section is part of the School for Spiritual Science. Therefore, you first become a member of the School. To do that, you need to contact your local class holder. For information on the First Class of the School for Spiritual Science, click this sentence. The class holder will explain how things work and what you need to do. Once you are a member of the First Class of the School for Spiritual Science, you become a member of the Section by introducing yourself to someone on the Section Leadership Team (me, for example, or anyone else on the team). Introduce yourself and let us know that you feel a destiny connection to the Section and its work. You can introduce yourself in a friendly, collegial way by phone, email, letter, or personal contact, or arrange a Zoom. You can arrange a meetup for coffee. We like to assume that as a member of the Section you will contribute to the Section’s work by sharing news of what you are doing, by joining in-person events or Zoom events, if possible, and by donating to the Section as a free deed of collegial support and spiritual friendship.

The Section is not monolithic. Persons who self-identify with the Section and its tasks do not necessarily announce themselves or talk about their activities. Some persons work quietly and anonymously for years. But to participate in the community and to share in work of the Section, it is important to introduce yourself and share news with others about what you are doing in so far as that is possible. Rudolf Steiner put a great deal of emphasis on the warmth arising from the spiritual friendships between persons who feel inspired by Anthroposophia, and he hoped that friends with shared interests would collaborate and get along.

Currently, we do not collect annual dues from persons who self-identify as Section members. But those persons who feel a heart-felt destiny connection to the Section and its work and who self-identify as members might wish to donate to the Section as an act of free will. This can be done through the Anthroposophical Society of America. For example, when you sign up for the conference, you have the option of making a donation. The Society is the steward for the Section funds. We do not have a Section treasurer. We do not receive funds from Dornach or the Anthroposophical Societies in the USA or Canada. Our only source of revenue comes from Section conferences or from the donations of persons who believe in the School for Spiritual Science and the Section and its work. Several anonymous Section members have made very generous donations to the Section in the past, and this has enabled the Section conferences and other activities to occur. But there is no expectation that this will continue. It is a matter of individual freedom, initiative, good will, friendship, and enthusiasm.

But can I affiliate with the Section and participate if I am not a “member” of the Class? I like what the Section is doing, but I am not ready to become an “official” member. I don’t like to formally join groups or organizations. I’m a bit skeptical, and I don’t want to pay dues or get involved in any “official” business.

We welcome your interest and enthusiasm and participation. We appreciate skepticism. We encourage a Parzivalian attitude. You do not need to be an official member of the Section. This is a Conference for friends and members of the Section. And in fact, all Section meetings to date that have originated in Northern California have been for friends and members of the Section.

Suppose I have other questions about the Section or the School for Spiritual Science or Anthroposophy?

This conference is an excellent place to investigate and to have such questions. Join the discussion group with John Bloom and Christiane Haid, for example. Or talk to anyone on the North American Section Leadership Team. Or talk to Christiane Haid or persons at the Conference during one of the many breaks. Christiane is the leader of the Section at the Gotheanum.

Why are you using the Swedenborgian Church?

Because it is an outstanding and premiere example of the arts and crafts architectural movement in America at the end of the 19th century. The people who freely assembled to build this Church were North American artists and visionaries. The Church is a surviving link to an older spirit-visioning of America.

In case you are not familiar with the Church, here is an introductory video by storyteller-poet John Gaul, a San Francisco poet who was a member of the Church for many years until his recent death.

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“I maintain that our poetry lacks a center, as mythology was for that of the ancients, and all the essentials in which modern poetry is inferior to ancient poetry can be summarized in the words: we have no mythology. But I add, we are on the verge of obtaining one, or rather it is time that we seriously contributed to producing one.”

Friedrich Schlegel, (friend and publisher of Novalis), 1800, Speech on Mythology

2.28.25