Creative Writing Field Seminars

A Sense of Where We Are: Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh is known as the "'city of bridges," the "gateway to the west." It is known for that mysterious "fourth river" and the steps that turn into streets. How do we know it precisely? What are the names of the streets where many of us grew up, where many of us find ourselves now? What are the names of the trees, the wildflowers, the birds? How did Pittsburgh come to be what it is now in terms of landscape? And, what are the remnants of industry here‹how do we rethink the city itself? We will hear stories of street lights on all day and see photographs of smog and dust. How do we come to see this history of Pittsburgh in relation to the environmental renaissance here now and the many restored areas of natural beauty? How do we write from all of these places‹the neighborhood, the suburb, the woods, downtown? How do we see a wounded and transformed landscape?

How, too, do we write from Pittsburgh culturally? What are Pittsburgh's neighborhoods? What is its sense of community? Why has the slow foods movement (started in Italy) taken off here? What is the legacy of culture‹the museums, music and art?

This course seeks to reconnect us as writers to a sense of place through field guides, natural history, and guided discovery. We will use our own backyard as text in addition to books by Pittsburgh authors such as Jack Gilbert, Robinson Jeffers, Gerald Stern, Annie Dillard, John Edgar Wideman, Thomas Bell, August Wilson, Albert French, Rachel Carson, Jan Beatty and others. We will take a multi-genre approach with reading and writing in poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and playwriting. Writing for children is also welcome! We will follow the workshop model in combination with an experiential learning model.

We will walk the trails, go to a bird sanctuary, possibly take a river trip by boat and/or by kayak, star gaze, investigate the city, its cultural centers, and we will read and write with a strong sense of place, this place!