Playa-bound: A homecoming, a disappearing act

I value the solitude, community of artists, and exposure to landscapes that residencies provide. The Great Basin in particular has had a powerful effect on my writing, as I’ve been traversing it for close to forty years, first as a ski racer in my teens traveling to events across the West, then as a geography student and eventually a professional land use planner working with small towns in Oregon, Idaho, Utah, and beyond.

As a writer, over the years, I have been a fortunate recipient of multiple residencies with Playa at Summer Lake in Oregon’s Great Basin country. I’ll return this March to work on my next full length book of poems. I also hope to use the time to explore an idea for a nonfiction project that has been on my mind for a long time and should draw on my experience as a small-town planner and artist.

Thank you for reading, and happy trails.