Why Should a Writer Rewild?
And one way to do it.
Because the universe is the source and home of all energies
Because it is the source of all magic
Because earth-based cultures are the most magical
Because we as humans were more mythic when we were wilder
Because great writing depends on writers tapping into spirit…
…I believe we writers should try to close the gaps between us and trees, us and nature, us and our places. This means reattaching with deeper bonds to our place and our planet. It means being wilder.
I call it rewilding.
I rewild so that my work smells of wildness. Reeks of it. Leaks it. The wildness comes, if I am lucky, in the form of a touch of genius, the lightning bolt of an idea, a gushing flow of creativity, a lush animation, or a fierce energy that is palpable. It comes in wild and perfect words.
I am not saying that I always get there, or that I ever get there, only that I am trying: I am constantly rewilding myself and my work so that I can harvest the abundant energies that the invisible realm offers.
Rewilding doesn’t mean living in a cave or eating shoots and roots.
Rewilding means
Grounding.
Reconnecting with the songlines and the energies of the earth.
Reconnecting ourselves with the energies of each other, strange as they are right now.
Regularly discharging the energies of the internet.
Decolonizing the Western mind.
Becoming native to place again.
Rebuilding diversity and abundance.
In writing rewilding means the same—grounding, reconnecting with longlines, reconnecting with others, decolonizing the Western mind, becoming native to place, rebuilding diversity and abundance.
Of course the next question is, How do writers rewild? I bet you have some ideas. I’d love to hear what you do to rewild.
How to Rewild
How can we heal from the ways we are separated relentlessly from our places? How can we bring more earth-energy into our lives?
To try to answer that, I'm offering a year-long correspondence course in place-making and wild-making through my nature Substack,
. The course is called JOURNEY IN PLACE.This is not an online course live via Zoom. This is a correspondence course, if you will.
Every week you get a mini-essay on place, a soles-on-the-ground exercise, and a writing prompt, plus some auxiliary material like Further Reading or Phenology. a kind of correspondence course.
Tuition is a subscription to my newsletter, TRACKLESS WILD. $9/month or $99 for the year. That's it. Nothing more. A subscription. I hope you join me.
You can find out more over at TRACKLESS WILD.
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And welcome welcome welcome.
Yes, I like to use objects in my songs as much as possible, something you can touch.
" I know my darlin loves me
Like a flower loves the dirt."
Catching up on some of your articles---will these videos be available after the fact? 7pm is 6pm CT and smack dab in the middle of dinner time/dishes for me. I'm debating which of your newsletters to become paid subscriber to because of what you are offering next year and am leaning towards this one because of the money and writing aspect---something I need to learn more on. But the key component would be being able to watch after the fact later that evening. Feel free to email instead of comment if needed.