Bread Loaf/Vermont is located approximately 11 miles outside Middlebury in the Green Mountains of Vermont.

Each year, approximately 260 students come from the United States and other countries to study creative writing, the teaching of writing, and theater arts, as well as British, American, and world literature at Bread Loaf’s Vermont campus.

Location and Activities

For those who enjoy outdoor life, Bread Loaf/Vermont is ideally located at the edge of the Green Mountain National Forest. The Long Trail, which winds along the summit of the Green Mountains and extends from southern Vermont to the Canadian border, is nearby. Weekly outdoor excursions, bonfire readings, dances in the Barn, and a picnic at the nearby Robert Frost Farm are popular Bread Loaf/Vermont traditions. The extensive campus includes a softball and soccer field, and tennis and volleyball courts, and nearby lakes and rivers offer many opportunities for recreation.  

Theater in Vermont

The Vermont campus is home base for the Bread Loaf Acting Ensemble, whose members bring texts to life in a number of classes and, along with actors drawn from the student body, appear in theatrical productions throughout the summer.

Letterpress Cabin

Students can see the printing process up close with our fully functioning letterpress printing cabin. Onsite master printers guide students on the completion of projects, and courses intersecting with the space allow students to explore how writers engage with the materiality of books. Over the years, others have offered workshops on the allied arts of papermaking and bookbinding. Claudia Johnson, Murray Professor of English Literature at Princeton University, is the director of Bread Loaf’s letterpress program.

Middlebury College Facilities and Events

Bread Loaf students have access to the facilities on the main Middlebury campus, just 11 miles away. These include the Ralph Myhre golf course and the Memorial Field House, which houses a fully equipped fitness center, an Olympic-sized swimming pool, an indoor track, and tennis, squash, and basketball courts. Bread Loaf students also enjoy trips to Middlebury’s Arts Center, which serves as a hub of arts activity on campus and for the surrounding communities and is home to the Middlebury College Museum of Art, the black-box style Seeler Studio Theatre, the Dance Studio, and the Concert Hall, as well as classrooms and music practice rooms.

Bread Loaf students can also to attend a variety of events sponsored by the Middlebury Language Schools, which run concurrently with the Bread Loaf session. Each summer a number of films, plays, readings, and concerts are open to the public.

Library

Middlebury’s libraries, which includes the Abernethy Collection of Americana and the Robert Frost Room, are available to Bread Loaf students. The Davison Memorial Library on the Bread Loaf/Vermont campus contains definitive editions, reference books, and reserve shelves for special course assignments.

Lodging

Dormitory housing is available for students without families, and most student rooms are doubles. Cabins, houses, and camps in the mountain communities surrounding Bread Loaf are often available for students with families, and securing off-campus housing is the responsibility of the student. Meals for on-campus students are served in the Bread Loaf Inn; off-campus students may pay for individual meals.

BLSE is eager to welcome the partners and children of our students into our community.  Students bringing young children should note, however, that demand for childcare services far exceeds supply, in the Middlebury area and across Vermont. Please check Middlebury’s website for childcare information and resources.  

Questions about the Vermont campus?

Reach out to Dianne Baroz at dbaroz@middlebury.edu or (802) 443-5277.

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