Final Reflection to Nature Writing Course

Coming into this course, I was eager to delve into the world of nature writing. For me, it was even more appealing because I have spent the past year of my time here at Chatham focusing my own writing on the natural world and environment. As a result of this course not only am I more interested in nature writing, but I also have discovered a much deeper and more meaningful level of writing. I now see nature writing as a place to reveal the most innate behaviors of the human condition, to revel in intimate interactions with the natural world, and to spread a degree of understanding and appreciation of the world around us so that we may tread more lightly upon it.

Although it was complicated and we often found ourselves back where we started, I will never forget our first class discussion concerning “What is Nature?” To me, that was one of our most engaging, interactive and passionate discussions. I enjoyed listening to all the different view points and found myself changing my own perspectives throughout the discussion. The question is a vague and difficult one, but I think it put us on the right track: it founded a place for our minds to build from when we read, analyzed and wrote our own nature pieces.

Class discussion was one of my favorite elements of this course, however I thoroughly enjoyed our field trips, guest speakers, and blog entries. As someone who admires activism, and plans on getting out in the field and doing volunteer work (which I never find the time to do) I was grateful that this class got me out there. The farm was fun, educational and it felt good to be out in the cold with my classmates. It reminded me of how lucky I am to be able to attend a school like Chatham and be involved in everything it offers. And although it was a “rough” morning for many, as well as a rainy one, I was happy and proud to be at the Nine Mile Run Watershed cleaning up crap and planting more trees. I think as citizens we should all be doing that regularly(there should be some sort of tax incentive for work like that-not that I care about the money, but I think it would get more people out there.) Another highlight for me was the guest speakers. Although very different people and writers, Nancy Gift and Jimmy Santiago Baca opened my eyes up to yet another level. Nancy taught me that it’s okay to just write down stories, to go back and make them environmentally educational, and to love weeds! Jimmy shook my mind and encouraged me to write with a level of emotion that I often stifle. His words and wisdom reminded me of the power of language, and the advantage we, as writers, have by using it.

I have to say that I now hold a special place in my (nature) heart for Mary Oliver, Janisse Ray, Edward Abbey, and Gretel Ehrlich. Although not a poet, Oliver’s writing reminded me of the power of simplicity and color. Ray showed me the skill of weaving the environmental with the personal, and Abbey and Ehrlich made me want to travel to the West in order to see the land as beautifully as they describe it, believing that I, too, could discover such serenity.

I find myself often getting caught up in description when it comes to my nature writing. I like how this course has taught me to utilize scene, dialogue and meaningful reflection to speak to somewhere much further beyond my own mind. I wish I could have taken this class earlier in my time here at Chatham. I feel it has taught me to take my writing to the next level when it comes to merging literature with nature. The blogging has heightened my awareness of my intimate surroundings. Although I sometimes had a hard time seeing my spot with “fresh” eyes, I like how it forced me to observe. As a result, I discovered what was hiding underneath the surface. I now have a deeper relationship with the things I describe, and I hope to incorporate that “light” into all my writing.