The Soul of Place: A Creative Writing Workbook: Ideas and Exercises for Conjuring the Genius Loci - Softcover

Lappin, Linda

Softcover

ISBN 10: 160952103X ISBN 13: 9781609521035

Publisher: Travelers' Tales, 2015

Synopsis

“This is such  a pleasure to read. Unlike most books with writing prompts, this one goes in depth with sensitizing you to ground yourself in awareness of where you are and why. Grazie, Linda, for this marvelous work.”

—Frances Mayes, author of Under the Tuscan Sun

In this engaging creative writing workbook, novelist and poet Linda Lappin presents a series of insightful exercises to help writers of all genres—literary travel writing, memoir, poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction—discover imagery and inspiration in the places they love.

Lappin departs from the classical concept of the Genius Loci, the indwelling spirit residing in every landscape, house, city, or forest—to argue that by entering into contact with the unique energy and identity of a place, writers can access an inexhaustible source of creative power. The Soul of Place provides instruction on how to evoke that power.

The writing exercises are drawn from many fields—architecture, painting, cuisine, literature and literary criticism, geography and deep maps, Jungian psychology, fairy tales, mythology, theater and performance art, metaphysics—all of which offer surprising perspectives on our writing and may help us uncover raw materials for fiction, essays, and poetry hidden in our environment.

An essential resource book for the writer’s library, this book is ideal for creative writing courses, with stimulating exercises adaptable to all genres. For writers or travelers about to set out on a trip abroad, The Soul of Place is the perfect road trip companion, attuning our senses to a deeper awareness of place.

About this title

About the Author

Tennessee-born Linda Lappin, novelist, poet, essayist, and travel writer, is the author of three novels, The Etruscan (Wynkin de Worde, 2004), Katherine’s Wish (Wordcraft of Oregon, 2008) and Signatures in Stone: A Bomarzo Mystery (Pleasure Boat Studio, 2013), winner of the 2014 Daphne Du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery and Suspense Writing. Upcoming projects include a memoir, Postcards from a Tuscan Interior, sections of which won a Solas Award from Travelers’ Tales, and Missing Madonna in Montparnasse, a novel about the life of Jeanne Hébuterne. She holds an MFA from the University of Iowa Writers Workshop and is a member of the Associated Writing Programs (AWP) and of the European Association for Creative Writing Programs (EACWP). She lives in Rome.

Edition details

• Publisher: Travelers' Tales
• Publication date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 160952103X
• ISBN 13: 9781609521035
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256