Nature’s Muse: Finding Inspiration through the Changing Seasons

How have writers through the ages found inspiration in all seasons, from the winter stars, the earliest spring buds, the blue vastness of the summer sky, to the lush bounty of harvest time? And how can we find this inspiration in our own writing? Kickstart your creativity by drawing inspiration from the changing seasons in this generative course. 

We will investigate how nature’s cyclical rhythms have inspired writers as varied as Thomas Hardy, Pablo Neruda, Li-Young Lee, Donna Tartt, Zora Neale Hurston, Sylvia Plath and T.S. Eliot. We’ll explore how the environment—from summer’s sunbaked sensuality to late autumn’s fading light and frost-scented air—reflects itself in their emotions. We’ll also look to the stars, examining how ancient peoples marked time through solstices, equinoxes, and lunar cycles.

Each week, you’ll dive into video lectures, readings from literature, and a variety of writing prompts. A suggested bibliography will be provided for those looking to explore further. You’ll submit one piece of writing—poetry or prose—each week and receive comprehensive feedback from me, as well as insights from your fellow writers.

Throughout the course, you’ll be encouraged to write outdoors whenever possible, capturing the quality of light, the sounds (or silence) of the natural world, and the tactile feel and scent of the air around you.

Whether you’re a poet, essayist, memoirist, or fiction writer, this course will help you deepen your connection to the natural world and galvanize your creative practice.

Who this Course is For

This course is for writers of all genres interested in deepening their connection to nature, and exploring nature as a muse for their creative practice. This course will also appeal to writers looking for new and unique ways to be inspired. All levels are welcome!

Learning and Writing Goals

Learning Goals

In this course, you will: 

• Develop a deeper understanding of how the natural world and seasonal changes can inspire and shape creative writing across genres.
• Explore the work of historical and contemporary writers who drew inspiration from the seasons, including Thomas Hardy, Pablo Neruda, and Zora Neale Hurston.
• Expand your knowledge of literary traditions tied to nature through readings, lectures, and suggested resources for further study.

Writing Goals

In this course, you will:

• Hone observational writing skills by incorporating sensory details from the environment, such as light, sound, and atmosphere, into your poetry or prose.
• Reflect on and write about your own connection with nature, and how it influences your writing.
• Write one new piece of poetry or prose each (up to 500 words) inspired by nature and the changing seasons. 
• Receive extra writing prompts to continue your writing practice after the course ends. 

Weekly Syllabus

Week One: The Star’s Winter 

As the days grow shorter and the year draws to a close, we begin our journey with the long nights and starry stillness of winter.  Explore the ancient solstice festivals of light (Yule), the symbolic rebirth of the sun after the darkest day. We’ll discuss the ancient practice of star mapping, the constellations visible during winter, and how different cultures interpreted the winter sky.  Texts include Claude McKay’s The Snow Fairy, Annie Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Linda Gregg’s Winter Love, Thomas Hardy’s The Darkling Thrush and Wallace Stevens’ The Snow Man.

Writing Prompt: Write 500 words (poetry or prose) in response to the winter solstice or exploring the wintry themes of silence and introspection.

Week Two: A Host of Golden Daffodils

 We’ll explore the budding life and renewal of spring, as well as the ancient traditions of Beltane and May poles. We’ll look at TS Eliot’s prologue to The Wasteland and how he captures the violent rush of early spring, and the practice of mindful attention to early flowers and changes in birdsong. Texts include T.S. Eliot’s The Wasteland, Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, Frances Hodgson Burnett’s In the Garden and The Enkindled Spring by DH Lawrence.

Writing Prompt: Draw inspiration from Eliot’s frostbitten flowers and Igor Stravinsky’s The Rites of Spring. Write 500 words (poetry or prose) on the chaotic seasonal changes of March and April.

Week Three: Great Bursts of Leaves

Summer the solstice celebrations of midsummer, the mythological meanings of meteor showers, the verdant vibrancy of life at its peak. We’d investigate the lushness and vitality of summer, rose- festooned May Queens, and the season’s ancient rituals of agricultural abundance.  How do writers use the languid warmth of summer to amplify their character’s emotions? Texts include Li-Young Lee’s From Blossoms, Sylvia Plath’s Collected Journals, Tess Taylor’s Solstice, Edith Sitwell’s Fireworks, Pablo Neruda’s Sonnet XL, and Sarajni Naidu’s June Sunset.

Writing Prompt: Write 500 words (poetry or prose) exploring the sweltering days of summer, where time seems to stretch, and the air is thick with unspoken words, and memories and desires seem to intertwine.

Week Four: Fire in the Fall

Autumn brings obvious themes of harvest and transformation. Ancient harvest festivals like Samhain or the autumn equinox may be introduced as ways to consider the balance between light and dark. Writing prompts could include observation of the changing leaves, migrating animals, and how nature prepares for winter. Texts include Donna Tartt’s The Secret History, Edith Wharton’s Autumn Stars, Flora Thompson’s Lark Rise to Candleford, Gerard Manley Hopkins’ Inversnaid, John Keats’ To Autumn and E.M. Forster’s Where Angels Fear to Tread.

Writing Prompt: On the autumn equinox, day and night hang in perfect balance, a fleeting moment of harmony before the world shifts. Write 500 words on the blurring boundaries between light and dark.

$345.00 Original price was: $345.00.$295.00Current price is: $295.00.Enroll Now