Amanda Reavey, BEI Fellow, will be teaching a beginning creative writing class this Spring through Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Anais Nin (1903-1977), best remembered for her journal writing, said, “It is the function of art to renew our perception. What we are familiar with we cease to see. The writer shakes up the familiar scene, and, as if by magic, we see new meaning in it.” Though participants learn or review the traditional basics of a story including character and plot, we also experiment with the writing process and push ourselves to become better seers. In other words, we begin with the gentle art of noticing and how to take a walk in the woods.