A Land Full of Stories: A Conference & Celebration of Writing about Place and Personal History (June 7 – 9, 2007), Southwestern Writers Collection, Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas

The Story Circle Network, in cooperation with the Alkek Library’s Southwestern Writers Collection at Texas State University, is planning a weekend writing conference to mark the publication of What Wildness is This: Women Write About the Southwest—Story Circle Network’s new anthology of writings by women celebrating their experiences in the landscapes of the Southwest.

The Land Full of Stories Conference will bring together people from around the country to tell their stories of the land through personal essays, autobiographical fiction, poetry, drama, dance, music, art and more.

The conference program will include a reception on Friday evening and the opening of an exhibit related to the anthology and to Story Circle Network. The evening’s keynote address will be delivered by Kathleen Dean Moore, Professor of Philosophy and founding director of the Spring Creek Project for Ideas, Nature, and the Written Word at Oregon State University. Moore is the author of three books of essays: The Pine Island Paradox; Holdfast: At Home in the Natural World; and Riverwalking: Reflections on Moving Water.

A wide variety of ninety-minute workshops and panel discussions focused on writing about place will be offered on Friday and Saturday. My workshop, “Always Coming Home” is slated for Saturday afternoon, where we’ll be playing musical chairs.

I’m attending the two pre-conference field-writing activities in Austin and San Marcos, including bat-watching, wildflower sightings, glass-bottom boat tours, spelunking and more. I’m jazzed and will be reporting in.