Earth Poetry AND Writing Wild Gatherings

“Poetry is just the evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash.” -Leonard Cohen

2020 Dates and Locations:

Write Your Wild Day Quest (April 28, Mad River, Blue Lake)

Poetry in the Redwoods (about once a month, Sequoia Park, Eureka)

“Poetry is just the evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash.” -Leonard Cohen

Poetry and nature are good medicine. The joy of creative writing isn’t something that belongs only to a select few–Everybody contains a treasure trove of poetry just waiting to be tapped and nature beckons as a mirror inviting exploration. This workshop is for anyone who would like to explore the poetry that lives within them with wild nature as co-creator.

Through reflection, activities, and writing exercises, you will be invited to create a river of words that tap into the earth as poet and the music of your whole self.

IN THIS ADVENTURE INTO NATURE AND POETRY YOU WILL:

• Embody techniques for cultivating your natural poetic creativity
• Learn to see nature as a mirror for reflecting what lives inside you
• Deepen your capacity to slow down to hear what is authentic
• Sharpen your senses as a guide to sharpen your writing
• Be inspired by the poetry of your peers
• Cultivate a deeper connection with nature
• Explore different poetic forms, style, and images

For both new and experienced poets and creative writers, and anyone who loves nature and likes to play with words.

Please bring: water and a snack, a blanket and/or seat, pen/pencil & paper, an item that appeals to your inner poet to set in the circle. Come dressed to spend the entire time outdoors.

Contact Ryan with questions: ryan@wildnatureheart.com

About the Instructor:

My name is Ryan Van Lenning, Founder of Wild Nature Heart, and I am an earth-lover with a deep desire to be of service in the work of re-connection, re-wilding, & re-membering. I started Wild Nature Heart to support people to re-connect with the wisdom of both inner and outer wild nature, to live their soul callings into the world, and to assist in the work of repairing broken belonging.

I am an inner/outer wilderness guide and poet (author of Re-Membering: Poems of Earth & Soul) and High-Cooing Through the Seasons: Haiku From the Forest, certified as an Ecotherapist through The Earthbody Institute & Certified Wilderness First Responder through Foster Calm. Prior to moving to California 12 years ago, I taught Comparative Religion, Philosophy, and Environmental Ethics at Sinclair College in Ohio. I live among the diverse forests and rivers of Humboldt County, in ancestral Wiyot and Yurok territory.