From Field Notes to First Drafts: Writing Poetry in the Wild - Workshop

From Field Notes to First Drafts: Writing Poetry in the Wild

An in-person interactive poetry writing workshop, where participants will learn how to translate their observations in the field, to first-draft poems.

Course | In Person

Course Information

Date & Time: April 28th, 11:00 AM

Duration: 2.5 hours

Skill Level: Beginner - Intermediate

Price:

• Standard Fee: $50 per participant
• Abundance Tier: $60 Higher fee includes pay-it-forward option for another participant & supporting the artist. For those with financial stability who want to support others’ access to the workshop. Helps cover community access and artist labor.
• Sustainer Tier: $40 covers the cost of the workshop only.
• Supported Tier: $15, for students, disabled folks, or anyone with limited income.
• Community Scholarship: a few fully supported spots available upon request–limited availability.

Course Description:

This regenerative and reflective workshop is designed for poets, birders, nature lovers, and writers of all levels who are interested in crafting poetry grounded in the natural world. Participants will learn to engage with their environment through sensory awareness and guided field notes, then transform their observations into compelling poetic drafts. The workshop draws on Hillary Gonzalez’s process of writing Wild, Unfelt World–a collection written entirely outdoors while birding across forests, marshes, and meadows.

Set in a natural environment, this workshop invites writers of all levels to slow down, pay attention, and gather sensory details directly from the landscape. No prior experience with poetry or birding is required.

The class begins with a brief introduction to ecopoetry, exploring how contemporary poets engage with place, ecology, and environmental awareness. Participants will learn practical techniques for taking field notes with the specific intention of later shaping them into poems: focusing on sound, texture, movement, light, and emotional response.

Through guided observation, structured writing prompts, and quiet reflection time, participants will begin crafting their field notes into first-draft poems on-site. The workshop emphasizes presence, curiosity, and attentiveness rather than perfection.

The session concludes with optional sharing and group discussion, allowing participants to reflect on the creative process and the relationship between noticing and writing.

Participants Will Learn:

• What ecopoetry is and how it connects writing to place
• How to take effective field notes for poetry
• Techniques for translating sensory detail into vivid imagery
• How to move from observation to first draft
• Ways to cultivate attention and creative presence in nature
• Strategies for continuing a personal nature-writing practice

This workshop encourages participants to see the natural world not only as subject matter, but as collaborator and kin, reminding us that poetry often begins with listening.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

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Host or Publisher Hillary Gonzalez