I had the amazing pleasure and privilege of participating in this Fiction Writing Retreat last summer. As I continue to look back, move forward, and work to bear witness to so many life-changing experiences, it behooves me to record my thoughts here.
Today: a picture or two or five - of last summer's journey West.
From roping calves...
to a momma cow's response....
Most of our ensemble in Granite Creek..
Looking through the cattle chute..
Charlie Phyllis
Up-close with my new friend "Spark"
A highlight of the experience: sharing our work around the campfire....
If you have the inkling to do this, GO FOR IT!
Writing the High Country:
A Fiction Workshop Retreat on a Western Cattle Ranch
Have you ever wanted to spend the morning on horseback and the afternoon writing about the quiet pull of a mountain range?
Here's your chance: a week long fiction workshop intensive located on a working cattle ranch near the Snake River in the Idaho Tetons. We will read a selection of classic and contemporary western writing, discussing both the legacies of the mythical "old west" and the realities of the "new west" as they play out in literature. Ranching activities, including a round-up and a branding of the calves, will be interspersed throughout the workshop schedule. We will also attend a mid-week rodeo in Jackson Hole. Each participant will emerge from the week with a piece of short fiction. Readings from Wallace Stegner, William Kittredge, Richard Ford, Cormac McCarthy, Tom McGuane, Barry Lopez, and Annie Proulx, among others.
Testimonials from past participants:
"The intensely physical/sensual experience of riding every day perfectly balanced the intellectual/emotional work we did in workshop.""I'm truly in awe of this experience... there's been magic, amazing grace, wisdom in all present... this experience was sacred."
The Location: This is the second year this workshop will take place at the Granite Creek Ranch, a working cattle ranch located in the Snake River valley in Ririe, Idaho, halfway between Jackson Hole, WY and Idaho Falls. Yellowstone & Teton National Park are nearby. Accommodations are in rustic cabins. For more info go to: www.granitecreekranch.com.
Dates: June 17th-23rd, 2007. Space is limited to eight participants.
Cost: $1375. (The cost of the workshop includes all meals, lodging, horseback rides, and activities. Participants are responsible for their own transportation to the ranch.)
About the Instructor: Reif Larsen is a writer, filmmaker, and teacher. He has taught writing workshops in Idaho, South Africa, the UK, and New York City. He currently teaches writing at Columbia University.
For more information and an application, please email: ril2104@columbia.edu.
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