Dear Frank,

I just wanted to let you know about a unique writing workshop I will be teaching again in June, which may of be some interest to you and your blog readers. For the second summer in a row, the workshop will take place at Granite Creek Ranch in Eastern Idaho. It went marvelously last summer—a truly amazing week spent on horseback, writing in the field, close reading Western American Fiction, and creating an intimate workshop space in the barn with the swallows flying above us. Due to the success of last summer, I am offering the workshop again this year but limiting the number of participants to only eight in order preserve the intimate nature of the workshop.

I am attaching the workshop announcement. Could you perhaps print an announcement for this workshop on a community events listing or calendar?

Please email if you have any other questions. Thank you.

Best,

Reif Larsen
Columbia University



Writing the High Country: A Fiction Workshop Retreat on a Western Cattle Ranch


Have you ever wanted to spend the morning on horseback and the afternoon writing about the quiet pull of a mountain range?

Here’s your chance: a week long fiction workshop intensive located on a working cattle ranch near the Snake River in the Idaho Tetons. We will read a selection of classic and contemporary western writing, discussing both the legacies of the mythical “old west” and the realities of the “new west” as they play out in literature. Ranching activities, including a round-up and a branding of the calves, will be interspersed throughout the workshop schedule. We will also attend a mid-week rodeo in Jackson Hole. Each participant will emerge from the week with a piece of short fiction. Readings from Wallace Stegner, William Kittredge, Richard Ford, Cormac McCarthy, Tom McGuane, Barry Lopez, and Annie Proulx, among others.

The Location: This is the second year the workshop will take place at the Granite Creek Ranch, a working cattle ranch located in the Snake River valley in Ririe, Idaho, halfway between Jackson Hole, WY and Idaho Falls. Yellowstone & Teton National Park are nearby. Accommodations are in rustic cabins. For more info go to: www.granitecreekranch.com.

Dates: June 17th-23rd, 2007. Space is limited to eight participants.

Cost: $1375. (The cost of the workshop includes all meals, lodging, horseback rides, and activities. Participants are responsible for their own transportation to the ranch.)

Testimonials from past participants:
- "Every single element has been helpful... the writing exercises have been a critical point of differentiation from other workshops I've taken... they have changed the way I view my writing process."
- "Before I came here, I didn’t see how I could write a short story by the end of the week, but because we were given the tools to do so through the writing activities, it was easier than I imagined… I was satisfied completely."
-"I'm truly in awe of this experience... there's been magic, amazing grace, wisdom in all present... this experience was sacred."

About the Instructor: Reif Larsen is a writer, filmmaker, and teacher. He has taught writing workshops in Idaho, South Africa, the UK, and New York City. He currently teaches writing at Columbia University.


For more information and an application, please email: ril2104@columbia.edu.