Ah Haa LitFest Workshop: Amy Irvine McHarg & Craig Childs

14 May Ah Haa LitFest Workshop: Amy Irvine McHarg & Craig Childs

“Raising the Dead: A Walking Celebration of Landscape and Literature,” Saturday, May 17

Amy McHarg by Susie Grant

Writers, readers and lovers of books are invited to a workshop with award-winning Colorado authors Amy Irvine McHarg and Craig Childs on Saturday, May 17, 8:30 am-noon. Participants will spend the morning roaming Telluride’s box canyon, making sudden and scenic stops to hear the authors read from the great bygone writers and poets of place. The workshop is part of the first annual Telluride Literary Arts Festival, an action packed weekend of events, May 15-18. 

Craig Childs by Sarah Gilman

“This festival is about reveling in the sheer pleasure that books bring to our lives, and so Craig and I wanted to offer an opportunity to just wallow in words, particularly the gorgeous, powerful narratives that have shaped who we are as writers of the West, of the natural world,” says McHarg of Saturday’s workshop. “In that spirit, we will wander the box canyon wilds, as well as the graveyard and other historic haunts, where we’ll summon, (perhaps channel!) the great literati of nature writing: Think Ed Abbey, Ellen Meloy, Pablo Neruda…But you must be forewarned: Spontaneous storytelling is bound to erupt. We might impulsively scribble poems on scraps, to be tucked in the crevices of boulders and the limbs of trees. We will talk about this imperiled planet, not only through the past eyes of Thoreau, but the now of it, and the future of it. And then, we will celebrate the miles walked, the books and places savored, at a long table bedecked with a silver margarita lunch at La Cocina de Luz.” 

Pre-register for Raising the Dead through the Ah Haa School at ahhaa.org.

The workshop begins with coffee and pastries at High Alpine Coffee Bar at Between the Covers Bookstore at 8:30 a.m. From there, participants will walk, so be prepared with a notebook, walking shoes, water, and layers. In case of bad weather, “we’ll still roam – in and out of buildings and covered areas,” says McHarg. The workshop wraps up back at Between the Covers at noon. From there, all are invited to join the authors for lunch at La Cocina.

For a complete Telluride LitFest schedule, visit tellurideliteraryarts.weebly.com.