Place in creative writing has often been best understood as setting, a backdrop for the human drama of character and plot. This course will examine not only how place and setting are central facets of creative writing, particularly in works centred on and about Bath, but how human language emanates from place.

In the age of climate change, as the human relationship to land grows more urgent, we consider the ways in which writing and perception are shaped by landscape, and how history, culture and identity are inseparable from place. Throughout the course, we will explore Bath and its environs together, from its geothermal springs and iconic city parks to the River Avon and the limestone hills that surround it. We will examine theory and criticism regarding place and writing, and read creative works set in Bath and written by authors living in the city and beyond (most famously Jane Austen and Mary Shelley) to further explore how our shared landscape as a class influences creative work. Students will also be invited to reflect creatively on their home landscape(s), and compare how place influences content and style within their own writings. The course culminates in a portfolio of creative work that may include fiction, non-fiction and poetry.

An overnight study trip takes us to the breathtaking landscapes of Dartmoor National Park, which has inspired writers such as Arthur Conan Doyle, and generated its own narratives, myths and legends.

Professor: Anne Valente, Asst Prof of Literature and Creative Writing, Hamilton College, avalente@hamilton.edu