Virtual Blooming: A Nature Writing Workshop with Austin Bat Cave!
Very excited for this BRAND NEW class with Austin Bat Cave, starting July 17th! Join me for 6 weeks as we get into the beauty and wonder of nature and nature writing. Details below:
“The land knows you, even when you are lost.”
― Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass
Whether you live in an urban area or in the countryside, this 6-week class aims to get you out of your head and into nature. We will write about the natural world, and our place in it, using model texts across various genres from authors such as Robin Wall Kimmerer, Rebecca Solnit, Rachel Carson, Barry Lopez, Natalie Diaz, and Helen Macdonald. Discussions in class will focus on different ways of looking at and interacting with the outside world, techniques for writing about nature, and what constitutes nature writing. Additionally, each week there will be a new fieldwork assignment that will require you to, in some way, leave your home, record observations, and share your findings with the group.
This class is both interactive and active and will include reading, research, observation, writing, and contemplation of questions such as: How do I interact with the natural world around me? Who is Indigenous to this land and is that reflected in the way my town/city is organized? How can I honor and protect the flora, fauna, and original people of the place I call home? What does it mean for humans and nature to coexist in a responsible, loving, and equitable manner? And how do we make the outdoors a place of true belonging?
This course is open to all writers of any genre who are interested in writing about nature. Prior workshop experience is not necessary, but all members of the class must come to each session prepared to discuss the readings, willing to share their own writing and fieldwork, and be generous in their responses to their peers’ work.
*** This Austin Bat Cave adult writing workshop is limited to 15 students and open to writers of all levels. To enhance the nature-writing experience, participants will receive a special workshop kit including Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, a waterproof, tear-proof notebook by Field Notes, and more. ***