This multi-genre course is a scavenger hunt. Each day will ask you to collect a different object, introduce it to an unexpected space, and to write. We will ask questions of how spaces cradle bodies, objects cradle space, and how the presence of tangible things dictates the types of interactions that we can have in those spaces. No two rooms in the world sound the same. Prepare to explore landscape, both external and external, in a new way.

Reading / listening assignments include the work of Helen Mirra, Dervla Murphy, Sharon Creech, Lenelle Moise, Elizabeth Bishop, Michael Ondaatje, and Banksy. In the course blog we will discuss how tangible things inform and motivate these works. How does each artist use objects to achieve their emotional impact? What is the role of space / landscape, and how are landscapes created in each work? How can we use these models to be more present in the environments that surround us?

In addition to submitting work, you will be expected to comment on one-two of your classmates’ writing responses daily. At the end of the course, I will conduct one-on-one conversations with each student via Skype or email to discuss further revisions and how to move forward.