Nature Writing – up to 1500 words
How can the writer articulate the relationship between ‘nature’ and the human body, where the body is not separate witness, but integral part of ‘nature’?
What might this mean?
How on earth might a writer approach this?
Some questions that might help bring into focus thoughts and feelings in relation to this:
- What even IS nature?
- What happens when, as a writer, I focus on one specific thing in ‘nature’? For example, where does my writing go if I choose to write a 1500 word article on ‘This Beech Tree’? Where are we led as writers (and readers)?
- What do my feelings towards ‘nature’ tell me about ‘nature’?
- What is the difference between an ecological report and an essay about / towards nature? What do each of these different approaches tell us about ‘nature’?
This is an enormous topic. For more in-depth reading try Val Plumwood, Terry Gifford, Freya Mathews, Tim Morton, Kate Rigby … the list is endless. Or try some non-fiction by Robert Macfarlane, Kathleen Jamie (Findings and Sightlines are both great), Helen MacDonald, Anne Dillard, Nan Shepherd.
This is worth watching:
Films I love on this topic:
- Beast of the Southern Wilds
- Ten Canoes
- Artanjuat, The Fast Runner
- Two Years at Sea
Or if none of this takes your fancy, feel free to write something in response to the Embodied Poetry discussion on 18 October.
Good luck and happy writing
Em Strang