What Birds Can Teach Us About Ourselves: A Six Part Master Class in Nature Writing

Birds are symbols of freedom, fragility, change, hope, endurance, spirit, migration, courage, and independence. Maybe it’s because of this that people have written about birds for as long as there’s been written language.

In this six-part online writing course taught by the long-time editor of Orion magazine, we will write about birds in an effort to better understand ourselves. What can birds teach us about who we are? How can they help us navigate the world? What do they know that we need to know? What can they show us about where we are trying to go in our lives?

Along the way, we’ll learn and talk about the birds we are seeing in our respective neighborhoods. We will read and discuss examples of powerful writing about birds. And — through a series of guest speakers — we will hear from published writers who are known for their writing about birds. Guests for this class include Drew Lanham, Susan Fox Rogers, and Kim Stafford.

Chip and your classmates will give feedback and encouragement on your writing, such that we will become stronger, more confident writers. Our goal will be that each participant comes away from the class with a finished piece of writing — as well as new insights about yourself and your own life.

This class — the third in a series of popular writing classes that Chip has led at Rowe recently — is meant for writers and birders of all levels. All that’s required is a willingness to listen to the birds, to your fellow participants, and to your own hopes, fears, and dreams.