The poet cannot be separate from place. Even placelessness becomes a pace. The world of conjecture, scholarship, and philosophical discourse is a place or series of places based on land and how one lives off the land. – Joy Harjo

Many people have heard the expression: “You are where you live.” Or “the importance of Eating Local.” But how much of who we are is tied up in where we are from or where we live now? In this course, we will be exploring non-linear examples of writing about place. We’ll be reading poetry and creative nonfiction that will include anything from the highly personal narrative of memoir to new journalism, to researched and historically based pieces, to the “lyric essay” which borrows elements of poetry. We will explore how elements such as image systems, form/shape, and repetition can act as a kind of structuring that more accurately (in some cases) and creatively recreates the truth of a shared experience. We’ll examine what it means to be a citizen of planet earth -- how can your writing, while telling a story of true experience, also be about history, beauty or something larger? In this course we will examine strategies of authors like Annie Dillard, Jamaica Kincaid, Li Diem Thuy, Camille Dungy, Basho, Traktung Yeshe Dorje, Hannah Dela Cruz Abrahams, Sherman Alexi, and others. We will also be reading excerpts from the following: World of Wonders, by Aimee Nezukumatathil, tiny essays on marvelous animals and plants; Claudia Rankine’s Citizen, a meditation on race and identity; and Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer’s wonderful book on the intersection of science and indigenous wisdom. We’ll write and revise three essays, have guest writers and farmers, and then complete a creative final project, which can include your own original poetry and fiction. We’ll also be spending time outdoors and visiting White Lotus Farms, a local sustainable farm with a goat herd, creamery, bakery, and gardens. So, bring some boots and good walking shoes.