Description
This package includes a 5-night stay in Wildcat cabin, registration for Writing the More-Than-Human World, and two group dinners as listed in the workshop description below.
Choose “single” for one workshop registration and single cabin occupancy.
Choose “double” for two workshop registrations and double cabin occupancy.
This live/work townhouse cabin has a loft bedroom with full-size bed upstairs and a twin day bed downstairs. This cabin is one of the two townhouses closest to the Commons with views of the pond and the playa beyond. It comes with a kitchenette which includes a counter top hotplate and convection oven, a dorm-sized refrigerator, a private bathroom with shower, a small living & dining area that opens up to an attached work studio.
WRITING THE MORE-THAN-HUMAN-WORLD
Instructor: Jennifer Perrine
Dates: July 11-16, 2024
Arrival: Thursday, July 11
Departure: Tuesday, July 16
Skill Level: All skills welcome
Mobility Level: Easy. All activities may be completed seated, standing, walking, or rolling. Participants may choose to bring a camp chair or stool for comfort during outdoor activities.
Workshop Description:
Nature writing is often viewed as a Eurocentric practice, but it has roots throughout global majority cultures. In this workshop, we’ll use practices carried by those many cultures to help us notice the more-than-human world—those aspects of nature outside of ourselves—and to write about our entanglement with other beings. Each day, you’ll have the opportunity to experiment with a new skill or writing tradition, including the short poetic form of tanka, the prose/poetry hybrid of haibun, and the mindfulness practices of forest bathing and bird noticing.
You’ll also have ample independent time to explore, write, and read. The instructor will provide examples of nature-centered poetry, essays, and fiction by Black, Indigenous, Asian Diaspora, and Latine writers for those seeking further inspiration. You’ll also have the option to meet one-on-one with the instructor for individualized writing mentoring. You’ll leave the workshop with at least 8 drafts of poems or short prose, plus a variety of skills for writing about nature and your place within it.
Instructor Bio:
Jennifer (JP) Perrine is the author of four books of poetry: Again, The Body Is No Machine, In the Human Zoo, and No Confession, No Mass. Their latest poems and essays appear in Five Minutes, The Maine Review, The Cincinnati Review, Pleiades, Nimrod, New Letters, Poetry Northwest, Orion Magazine, Harpur Palate, Oregon Humanities, and Cascadia Field Guide: Art, Ecology, and Poetry. Perrine lives in Portland, Oregon, where they co host the Incite: Queer Writers Read series, teach writing, and work as the equity and racial justice program manager with the Metro Parks and Nature Department. https://www.jenniferperrine.org/
Agenda:
Each day will start at nine am with a half hour warm up, followed by a talk about craft. From two to four pm, group craft talk and workshop short drafts. Melissa will also meet with students in half hour, 1:1 meetings for questions.
Day 1: Thursday, July 11: 2:00-5:00 pm Arrival | Afternoon and Dinner on your own | 6pm-7pm: Welcome and Introductions; Writing our natural histories (Commons Lodge)
Day 2: Friday, July 12: Morning tanka and haibun walks/sit spots at PLAYA campus | Lunch on Your Own | Afternoon: Independent exploration, writing, and reading time | 6pm Group dinner provided by PLAYA
Day 3: Saturday, July 13: Shinrin yoku (“forest bathing”) and writing at Summer Lake | Lunch on your own | Optional 1-on-1 writing coaching/mentoring | Afternoon- Independent exploration, writing, and reading time | 6 pm Optional group potluck dinner
Day 4: Sunday, July 14: Morning bird noticing and writing at Summer Lake Wildlife Refuge | Lunch on your own | Optional 1-on-1 writing coaching/mentoring + Afternoon: Independent exploration, writing, and reading time| Evening bird noticing and writing at Summer Lake Wildlife Refuge
Day 5: Monday, July 15: Writing our natural futures (Commons Lodge); Group Share; Closing | Afternoon: Independent exploration, writing, and reading time | Group dinner provided by PLAYA
Day 6: Tuesday, July 16: Depart by noon
Equipment to bring:
- Paper and pens/pencils or laptop and charger
- Printer if you like to work with printed copies of your work. PLAYA is limited on printing capabilities.
