Let's all enjoy some Yaddo with the Washington Post

Yaddo, the famed Saratoga Springs artists’ community (its castle pictured above), has seen its fair share of literary genius. Founded by Katrina Trask, a poet and playwright herself, this sanctuary has inspired scores of prizewinning writers and artists since 1900. The artistic enclave, with its 10-acre Italian-style rose garden, 180-foot pergola and special poet's corner, remains a wellspring of creativity even today.

Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan describes the magic of Yaddo for the Washington Post:

Many believe that the creative powers of Yaddo (the founders' young daughter suggested the name) lie in the 400 scenic acres of woods and lakes where co-founder Katrina Trask once envisioned "literary men, literary women" finding the "Sacred Fire" as they're "walking in the woods, wandering in the garden, sitting under the pine trees . . . creating, creating, creating!" Decades before Katrina and her financier husband, Spencer, began inviting artists to stay with them at their Saratoga Springs mansion in the 1890s, there had been a tavern on the property that was popular with writers. It was believed that one, in particular, wrote part of a significant poem while staying at Barhyte's Tavern. His name was Edgar Allan Poe. The piece? "The Raven."