Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.
[William Wordsworth]
I’ve just returned from the most delightful of journeys—almost 3,000 miles through the heart of America. My primary objective was to attend the Land Full of Stories writers’ conference presented by the Story Circle Network in San Marcos, Texas. Along the way, I was able to enjoy visits with loved ones and new acquaintances. I also enjoyed the company of knitters at the Tulsa Knitters Guild, and discovered that Iowa is as beautiful as Virginia. I’d always imagined that Iowa was miles and miles of flat corn fields, but it is a place with rolling and interesting landscapes. That is not to say that flat corn fields are not beautiful, but I live in that landscape and enjoy seeing something different when I pay $3.00 a gallon for gas to go somewhere else.
The centerpiece of the SCN writers’ conference was the launch of the book, what wildness is this. Kathleen Dean Moore, Ph.D., presented the keynote address that kept me enthralled and, at times, in tears at its depth and beauty. I attended four writing workshops, each of which focused on an aspect of writing about “place”—internal as well as external places. This experience was so enriching that it will take me months to assimilate all that I learned.
The contributors to what wildness is this will be blogging about place at this LINK .
Knitting, writing and other joys 
I always wondered at the fact that I, although I like Indiana, never felt at home in this place where I was born and raised. After I read “The Sojourner” by M.K. Rawlings, I decided I might be a sojourner.
Katherine, Thank you for introducing me to ‘what wildness this is’ as well as to the deeper concept of ‘place’. Wildness in the mid-west has a different look and feel, but still holds a deep, passionate connection to the earth, nature and a specific ‘place’. I grew up deeply connected to a piece of land rich in tall trees, wandering creeks and deep green pastures. Here, the wildness, and the sacredness, have changed over the years but my deep love for this place continues. Thank you for bringing me back to this sense of of place!
Katherine, it was wonderful to meet you at the Tulsa Knit Guild meeting. Seeing your socks up close and personal was a real treat. BTW, here’s the link to the NonaKnits sideways sock experiment. I think you’ll enjoy reading it.
http://nonaknits.typepad.com/nonaknits/
Katherine, I’m so glad that you were able to join us for the conference, and that the experience was rewarding enough to make you glad that you drove 3,000 miles to do it! It was a joy to meet you face-to-face at last. Glad you made it home safely.
You and your readers might be interested to know about a brand-new blog, What Wildness is This, at susanalbert.typepad.com/what_wildness_is_this, where contributors to the anthology will be blogging about place.
–Susan Albert