Mondays, February 8 - 22, 6-7 PM
How should we consider the perspective of a deer? What does it mean for a tree to be a character? Is there a right way to write about a river?
Humans are not the only characters in the stories we tell, but the practice—and unique challenge—of writing about other-than-humans is not often considered in discussions of craft. We can’t directly ask animals or plants or rocks what they think or feel; we worry about making them too much like us, or not enough, or don’t think much about them at all.In this workshop, Brandon Keim will help you create compelling narratives about members of other kingdoms and species. Workshop participants will consider how to document their lives and imagine other perspectives; discuss using knowledge from science, scholarship, culture, and everyday life; think critically about the depiction of the natural world; and explore how to portray animals and other living and non-living things as characters, and how to weave their stories with our own.
Among the authors discussed will be Robert MacFarlane, Kathryn Gillespie, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Richard Powers, Louise Gluck, Ursula LeGuin, and Annie Dillard. There will be generative writing exercises in each session. The workshop is open to all skill levels, practices, and genres. It will be helpful to both people writing primarily about nonhumans and to writers whose work is centered on human affairs but still want to portray the nonhuman world with fidelity and depth.
As a workshop-based class, writers will have the opportunity to share their work and receive feedback in a collaborative, supportive environment.)
$60 Members/$85 Nonmembers
Brandon Keim is a freelance journalist specializing in science, nature, and animals. His latest book, Meet the Neighbors: Animal Minds and Life in a More-Than-Human World, is about animal personhood — knowing them as thinking, feeling beings — and our relationships to wild animals and to nature. His first book, The Eye of the Sandpiper, was published in 2017. He’s written three issue-length treatments for National Geographic: Inside Animal Minds, Secrets of Animal Communication, and The Genius of Dogs. His work has appeared in publications including the New York Times, The Atlantic, WIRED, and Nautilus, where he’s presently a contributing editor. He lives in Bangor.
ADVANCE REGISTRATION REQUIRED
All MWPA workshops require advanced registration. We accept registration by phone, mail, and online via our website. We cannot guarantee registration in the final 24-hours before a workshop, and can rarely accommodate day-of registration.
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If you need to withdraw from a class after registering for any reason, please email or call the MWPA immediately. You may be eligible for a partial refund or credit, depending on how far in advance you cancel. → MORE INFORMATION
QUESTIONS
For any questions regarding this workshop, please contact programs@mainewriters.org.
REGISTER BY PHONE
Call 207-200-7180 and register with your VISA or MasterCard.
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SCHOLARSHIP
The MWPA is proud to offer one partial scholarship to this workshop for members-only. Scholarships are awarded on a combination of need and merit. Application Due two weeks prior to the workshop start date, at 9:00 a.m.
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MWPA WORKSHOP POLICIES
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