the where of it

writing about place in Taos

• Posted by Summer Wood on March 6th, 2009 filed in craft of writing, grants for writers, places
• 2 Comments »

I promised in Monday’s post to tell you about another New Mexico writers’ conference, this one in Taos.

First, a quick word about good luck.  I’ve had healthy doses of it throughout my writing career, but, early on, maybe the most propulsive bit of luck came my way in 1999 when I won a fellowship to the first Taos Summer Writers’ Conference.  I had the opportunity to work with Pam Houston, an astounding writer of short stories, and her comments on and appreciation for my novel manuscript, ARROYO, helped to launch it into the world of published work.

Eleven years later, I’m back at the Taos Summer Writers’ Conference.  This time I sit at the faculty side of the table, and I couldn’t be prouder or more pleased to be able to teach alongside such accomplished writers as Pam (returning for her eleventh year), Antonya Nelson, Robert Boswell, the hilarious Rob Wilder, and more.

What makes the Taos conference so extraordinary?  Well, in a word:  PLACE.  And that’s why, when Conference Director Sharon Oard Warner (herself an accomplished novelist and professor of creative writing) asked me to consider teaching a weekend workshop called Writing Around Taos, I jumped at the chance.  (Thanks to the always generous creative genius Natalie Goldberg for recommending me for the post.)

Okay, okay, so I’m a Taos booster.  I’m crazy about the mountains, the way the Rio Grande cuts through the high desert landscape like a knife, the unique interface of cultures, the wealth of tradition, the lively and creative ways people approach daily life here.  I’m nuts about the way seasonal rhythms still govern life in Taos.  Maybe it sounds weird, but there’s some way in which the beauty and abundance of the landscape gets reflected in the beauty and diversity and customs of the people who live here.  And I’m no stranger to the flipside of that, the way the beauty and abundance are tempered by a kind of harsh austerity that can play out among the people here, as well.

And since that’s what this blog is about – identifying, exploring, and celebrating the ways in which place functions in writing – I’m so happy to be able to invite you to join me in doing just that, this summer, in Taos.  A positive early response to the weekend workshop led Sharon to ask me to put together a week-long version, and so Writing The Where Of It was born.  Both workshops will let us leave the classroom and experience the landscape and cultural history of the Taos area firsthand while we delve into the question of how to access the power of place in our writing.

You can find more information – including scholarship opportunities – at the conference website.  And if you can’t come this year but know others who might like to, please take a second and pass the word to them.

A little more about luck

The thing about luck, all writers know, is that it can’t hurt to give it a little help.  Attending conferences, applying to contests and for residencies, improving your skills and getting your work out there to those who will appreciate it – all of these things can propel you to a new level in your work.  Which makes you shine brighter when that wand of luck comes waving around, no?  So go for it.  Check out the ways in which you can access help to becoming a better (and better-known) writer.  You can find tons of info about grants, awards, residencies, and the like for writers and artists here.