This immersive reading course is a sister effort to a seasonal series of writing workshops taught by Gretchen at the University of Arizona Poetry Center around "Relational Ecologies: Writing with a More-than-Human World." Participants can take one workshop by itself in either location, or grow a practice of relational ecologies between places over time. Gretchen also teaches "Writing the Landscape" at Oak Spring.
Overview: Have you ever wanted time to immerse in reading and in nature? The roots of ecology are seeded in meanings of “home” and “dwelling”—not merely a house but a life—interrelated with other lives. This short course engages literary readings (poetry, nonfiction, fiction) to connect the landscape of Oak Spring more deeply with senses of place. Ecology is not isolated but interconnected, as relationships between organisms and environments grow reciprocally with the more-than-human world. The act of reading environmental literature can hone the art of attention and invite more embodied ways of knowing (with fellow humans, animal and botanical presences, bodies of water and of land) to renew ways to care about our shared planetary home. Our short course will interweave some history of environmental literature alongside natural and artistic elements to expand our readings, including ways of being and "seeing," remembering and imagining, rewilding and seeding future possibilities. As you wander the paths of Oak Spring—around spring-fed creeks and ponds, forested woods and fields, moss-covered stacked stones, and essential soil under all—participants will read to reinhabit the world, to expand our sense of home on this living, breathing Earth.
Eligibility: This course is ideally suited to individuals who wish to hone their skills of nature literature and learn to read more deeply and broadly. This course will be limited to 12 participants.
About OSGF: The Oak Spring Garden Foundation (OSGF) is a philanthropic foundation based at the former primary estate of the late Paul and Rachel Mellon, who were major philanthropists in the U.S. of the arts, humanities, and sciences in the second half of the twentieth century. OSGF is located in the northern Virginia Piedmont and Blue Ridge Mountains region (ca. one-hour drive from Washington, D.C.). Led by Sir Peter Crane, the Foundation’s inaugural President, OSGF supports residencies for artists and scholars. It is becoming a new center of excellence and stimulation of all things botanical, from fundamental research in plant evolution and conservation, to horticultural and plant conservation practice, to the history and art of plants gardens and landscapes.
Instructor:
Gretchen Henderson
Gretchen E. Henderson writes across environmental literature and arts, cultural histories and integrative sciences. Her fifth book, Life in the Tar Seeps: A Spiraling Ecology from a Dying Sea (2023 Trinity University Press), has been melting across intermedia tributaries, exhibitions, performances, and field practices. Recent publications include Ecotone, Orion, Ploughshares, Kenyon Review, Notre Dame Review, LA+/Landscape Architecture Plus, and coauthored articles including Nature Sustainability. Her fourth book was translated across five languages. Gretchen is the 2023 Aldo & Estella Leopold Writer in Residence in New Mexico and a Lucas Artist Program Fellow in Literary Arts at Montalvo Arts in California; among other awards, she was a 2020-2022 Faculty Fellow at UT-Austin’s Humanities Institute and 2018-2019 Annie Clark Tanner Fellow in Environmental Humanities at the University of Utah. Currently a Senior Lecturer at the University of Texas at Austin, she has taught widely including Georgetown University, University of Utah, MIT, University of Arizona Poetry Center, and other writing programs across communities. Born and raised in San Francisco, Gretchen lives seasonally in the biodiverse Sonoran Desert where she invites participation in Dear Body of Water: a poetic water-harvesting project to cultivate care for watersheds.
Guest instructors for this course will also include members of the Oak Spring Garden Foundation's Library, Garden and Bio Conservation Teams.
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.
Dates and Duration: The course runs for four (4) days with participants arriving on Monday, May 20, 2024 and leaving on Friday, May 24, 2024. Participants should plan to arrive between 1:00 pm and 4:00 pm on Monday, May 20, 2024.
Course Fee: $950 is all-inclusive and covers 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). A limited number of full or partial Fee Waivers are available for this course.