Class Description
“If you don’t know where you are,” wrote Wendell Berry, “you don’t know who you are.” Given the changes in the virtual environment, and the changes in the natural one, knowing where we are is becoming a more complex task. As Wallace Stegner pointed out, Berry didn’t mean the kind of location that could be found with a map, let alone with GPS. “He is talking about the kind of knowing that involves the senses, the memory, the history of a family or a tribe.” Whether you’re interested in evoking the beauty and significance of a particular place, or preparing to enter the debate about climate change, certain craft elements will help you to make your reader more attuned to the natural world, and to the potential consequences of its misuse. In this class, with the help of short excerpts from Bill McKibben, Elizabeth Kolbert, and Annie Dillard, we’ll examine scale shifts, making science approachable, and moving from the physical to the metaphysical as a way to make meaning. We’ll also do an in-class writing exercise on locating the reader—on finding the details that will make a place emerge in the mind. Students can expect to come away from the class with the beginning of an essay on a place of their choosing. This class is suitable for all levels.
Thanks to the excellent literary citizenship of our donors, scholarships are available for all GrubStreet classes. To apply, click the gray "APPLY FOR SCHOLARSHIP" button. In order to be considered for a scholarship, you must complete your application at least one week before the start date of a class. Please await our scholarship committee's decision before registering for the class. We cannot hold spots in classes, so the sooner you apply, the better. Scholarships cannot be applied retroactively.
For more detailed information about GrubStreet scholarships, including how to contribute to scholarship funds for other students, click here.
This class will take place using Zoom videoconferencing. About 15 minutes before your class is scheduled to begin, you'll receive an email from your instructor with a link to join the class meeting!
Zoom Participation:
Students are not required to turn their camera on, but are encouraged to participate any way they feel comfortable through functions such as the live chat, emoji reactions, and unmuting the microphone. Learn more about using Zoom here.
Zoom Accessibility:
We ask that instructors enable closed captioning and send a transcript of the session after class. You can also enable closed captioning at any time during the meeting. If your instructor forgets to send the transcript, just send ’em an email!