We’re mapping a BOOK CITY, right here in Roanoke, exploring equity and engagement at the intersection of books and place.
OUR CURRENT READ…
Our next effort, in partnership with the Roanoke Arts Commission and the Raleigh Court Library Book Club, celebrates the 50th anniversary of Annie Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek and the City’s newest stretch of greenway.
Together, we’ll read the book; hear from guides (close readers who have spent time with the text); connect with our place and explore potential public art projects for the greenway. Join us as we get started. Meetings will be hybrid, in person and online.
OUR NEXT EVENT: Sunday, May 18
Join us for an hour of poetry inspired by the natural world of the New Tinker Creek Greenway! Local artist and writer R.A. Morris will provide instruction on how to use nature as inspiration for poetry. after a free-writing period, participants will regroup to share their work. Join us as we explore the area and the creative benefits of observation, meditation, and free-form creation. Materials provided. Ages 16+. No prior writing experience necessary!
May 18
3 – 4:30 PM
1425 Mason Mill Road, NE
Meet at Mason Mill Park Trailhead.
Parking available at all three locations in the map below.
DETAILS:
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek was published by Harper’s Magazine Press in 1974, winning the 1975 Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction). We’ll have online discussions and get out on some visits to the site from the 13th Street NE trailhead to Mason Mill Park. Join us as we celebrate the role of the natural world in teaching us to see, exploring together how we might pass along the work’s sense of curiosity and wonder.
We expect that these will be hybrid meetings, both in person at 117 Church Avenue, SW and online via zoom. Here’s the link to the zoom room for the meetings.
DATES:
Jan. 28: Organizing meeting: Get to know each other
Watch the Video from the organizing meeting
View the Slide Deck from the organizing meeting
Feb 18: Chapters 1-3 with Guide Tom Gardner
Watch the Video from session one
Learn more about Tom Gardner here.
Feb 25: Chapters 4-6 with Guide Suzanne Thorniley
Watch the Video from Session Two
March 4, 7 PM with Guide Rachel Pence, VA Dept. of Environmental Quality
– Chapters 7 and 8 (pages 104 – 146)
– Watch the Video from Session Three
March 18 – The Tinker Creek Project with guides Ashley Wilson Fellers and Thomas Fellers
Chapters 9-11 (pages 147 – 206)
Watch the VIDEO here
March 25, 7 PM
The Tinker Creek Project with guide Natalia Michel, artist in residence
Chapters 12-13
Watch the VIDEO here
April 5, 2:30 – 4:30 PM
Nature Walk Along Tinker Creek
1902 13th St. NE
Phone – day of – (540) 529-4879
April 8, 7 PM
The Tinker Creek Project
Final two chapters and wrap up
Watch the Video here
April 26, 3 PM
Mindfulness Walk and Contemplative Photography
May 18, 3 PM
Poets in the Park
+ MORE!
- Saturday walks & workshops along the greenway
- Art making opportunities
- Mindfulness activities
- Calls for art
April 5 – Tinker Creek Discovery with Rachel Pence
April 26 – Tinker Creek Mindfulness walk with Suzanne Thorniley
TBD – Poetry in Nature with Rachel Anne Morris
TBD – The Eye Planetarium Field Trip with Katie Brooks
TBD – Developing a Public Art Project Goal Statement
July 1 – Municipal Art Show Call (for art inspired by Pilgrim at Tinker Creek and relating to mindfulness, and intimate connections to nature, and even the creek itself.
BOOK CITY ★ Roanoke 