Pay Attention. Be Astonished. Tell About It: A Nature Writing Workshop

Charlotte Hobbs Library

Saturday, April 11, 2026, 1-5 p.m.

In her poem "Sometimes," Mary Oliver offers the following "Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it." What would it mean for us to live this way in a world characterized by digital distractions, cynical detachment, and artificial intelligence? What if, instead of endless doomscrolling, we allowed ourselves to fully focus on a flower, find wonder in a raindrop, and shout about the miracle of a mountain? Join author and Maine Master Naturalist Andrea Lani for an afternoon of practicing these principles as we craft nature-inspired poetry and prose. During this three-hour workshop, we’ll give ourselves permission to tune out the static and noise of the modern world and instead listen to what nature is telling us. Using established nature writers and poets as our guides, we’ll practice paying close attention, re-energize our astonishment muscles, and play with language to help us best convey our own delight in the world. Participants will come away with the starts of several pieces of writing and a range of prompts and writing exercise that can be used any time. Writers of poetry, fiction, or nonfiction with any level of experience are welcome.

Andrea Lani is the author of Uphill Both Ways: Hiking toward Happiness on the Colorado Trail, and a multitude of essays about nature and family that have appeared in a range of journals and anthologies, most recently Echoes in the Fog: Literary Reflections on the Liminal Spaces of Maine's Coast. Andrea is a graduate of College of the Atlantic and the Stonecoast MFA Program, she’s an active Maine Master Naturalist, and she teaches nature writing and nature journaling around the state. Find her online at www.andrealani.com and andreaelani.substack.com.