There’s Something About Mary: The Practice of Looking Closely with Mary Oliver & Mary Ruefle

“I’m half crazy with the wonder of it- the abundance of leaves, the quietness of the branches, the hopelessness of my effort. And I’m, in that delicious and important place, roaring with laughter.” – Mary Oliver

Winter is a time of deep introspection. The world gets dark and cold, we huddle close under blankets, we forget the feel of sunshine on our face, grass under our feet, we take our vitamin-d and sit in front of our UV lamps, we unspool our grief. It’s nearly impossible to open the pages of a Mary Ruefle or Mary Oliver book and not feel the need to step outside, to watch trees dance in the wind, to puzzle over a small creature on the ground, to feel the cold on your face and hands.

In this workshop we will examine both poetry and prose by the Mary’s, and in doing so challenge ourselves to turn winters introspective lens outward, using nature and the practice of looking closely to help grapple with and mirror the solitude and inward-thinking of our darkest months, whether that be literally or figuratively. “So on I wandered,” Mary Ruefle writes, “with arms and bitric-startled eyes, / nitpicking my way through the world / when the electrical current / that runs in all directions / deep beneath the earth / shook me.” Come take a walk with me.

Access Program
We want our writing classes and Delves to be accessible to everyone, regardless of income and background. We understand that our tuition structure can present obstacles for some people. Our Access Program offers writing class and Delve tuitions at a reduced rate.Most writing classes have at least one access spot available.

Please apply here for access rate tuition. Contact Susan Moore at susan@literary-arts.org if you have questions.

Class cancellation policy:
If you register for a class and need to cancel before the class begins, here’s a link to our class cancellation policy.