Overview: How can plants be companions in the intentional and critical exploration of place within a creative nonfiction practice?
Creative nonfiction is grounded in real stories, but it also weaves imagination, possibility and subjectivity into the storytelling, taking creative licenses to approach reality in original ways. This course will be a dialogue between instructors and attendees focused on the creation of place-driven stories, using the language of creative nonfiction and centering plants as an integral part of placemaking.
The contents and discussions of the course will be framed within spiritual ecology. Attendees will be encouraged to consider and learn from the ways in which plants experience place, and will examine how by creating relationships within a space, plants hold and embody the different stories of that place. By learning to explore placemaking with the guidance of plants, participants will develop new approaches to developing creative nonfiction, and also new ways of showing up in conscious relationship with landscapes.
Eligibility: This course is primarily recommended for early-career writers, photographers and filmmakers, as well as scientists, conservation practitioners, researchers, or scholars wanting to explore creative nonfiction and, and who are interested in themes within spiritual ecology.
The only prerequisite is that participants must be interested in exploring the language of creative nonfiction.
While no significant previous experience is required, participants should know that this is not a technical workshop—we expect participants to be able to work with the media or medium they choose and to bring their own equipment.
Course Structure: The class will convene for 6 Zoom meetings (2 hours each) to meet one another and cover the more theoretical aspects of the course. These sessions will happen every other week, leaving a week in between for independent study of suggested materials.
After these sessions, the process will culminate with a 4 night/3.5 day stay at the Oak Spring Garden Foundation in Upperville, VA., where artists will be able to practice engaging with plants to co-create meaningful, creative stories relating to place. These in person sessions will be focused on intensive field production and the creation of a culminating project. A final online session will be held afterwards for participants to share their projects and reflections of the process.
This course will follow the transition from summer to fall: Summer Solstice: June 21, 2023 — Autumn Equinox: September 23, 2023. Online sessions will be held Sundays at 10:00 AM, starting on June 25, 2023.
Virtual Convening Schedule
Wednesday, June 21, 2023 | Introductory Session - time to be confirmed
Sunday, June 25, 2023 | 10:00 AM CSTST
Sunday, July 9, 2023 | 10:00AM CST
Sunday, July 23, 2023 | 10:00 AM CST
Sunday, August 6, 2023 | 10:00 AM CST
Sunday, August 20, 2023 | 10:00 AM CST
In-Person Program
August 28, 1:00-4:00 PM EST | Check-in
August 29-30, 9:00 5:00 PM EST | Course Instruction
September 1, 12:30 PM | Check-out
In-Person Accommodation and Travel Information: Participants will be accommodated with all meals and private lodging on site at Oak Spring.
Participants are responsible for arranging their own travel to the Washington, D.C. area. If flying, please book flights to Dulles International Airport. International applicants are welcome, but fluency in English is necessary. Closer to the start date, our Programs team will assist with coordinating travel arrangements to the Oak Spring Garden Foundation site, as necessary.
Course Fee
$1100 is all-inclusive and covers your full tuition, lodging on-site for four nights in our comfortable suites, and all meals on-site (from dinner on Monday through breakfast on Friday.
Selection Process
Applications will be reviewed by course instructors and OSGF staff.
Application Deadline
Applications are due Monday, April 17, 2023 at 11:59 PM EST. Applicants will be notified around May 19, 2023.
Maya Kahn-Abrams
Maya Kahn-Abrams has a background in mycology, botany, natural product chemistry, biogeochemistry, history and anthropology, and has worked in horticulture and organic/regenerative agriculture since 2011. After completing two years at Bard College (2012-2014), she graduated in 2019 from The Evergreen State College with a dual BA/BS in environmental microbiology and ecology. Since graduating she has worked with the Rare Plant Care and Conservation program at the University of Washington Botanic Gardens and for USDA-Agricultural Research Service. She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Restoration Ecology at the University of Washington. Through discovering plants, microbes and their roles within ecosystems and human survival, Maya has been guided on a journey of profound scientific and personal discovery, instilling a commitment to exploring how equitable societies shape ecological resiliency through indigenous traditional ecological knowledge.
Alessandra Baltodano
Alessandra is a documentary photographer/filmmaker and anthropologist from Costa Rica. Through creative nonfiction, she explores the affective, existential and spiritual dimensions of the relationship between humans and their inner and outer landscapes. Her work is inspired and informed by the fields of environmental humanities, ecofeminism and spiritual ecology. She holds an M.A in Anthropology & Documentary Film from Tallinn University, as well as B.A.s in Communication Studies (University of Costa Rica) and Photography (Veritas University). She is also the co-founder of Wimblu, a creative documentary studio telling stories to restore our sense of belonging and connection to the Earth. Wimblu is a grantee project of the Kalliopeia Foundation and Alessandra’s work has been published and shown in exhibits, publications and festivals in Costa Rica, United States and different countries across Europe.