What do we mean by the “sense” of a home? Is it a feeling? An abstraction? Which of our senses—touch, sight, smell, taste, hearing—can best detect the “flavor” of a home? And how can we capture that flavor in words? Together, we’ll explore these questions, sharing a few examples of writing where the landscapes are more than just background. Then we’ll explore places important to our own lives, specifically the homes that we have experienced, through generative prompts, writing time, and discussion. Participants should leave the workshop with an evocative piece of writing about a significant location in their lives, which may be integrated into a story, essay, memoir, or poem – or be a complete piece on its own!

Helen Raica-Klotz is a non-fiction writer with two books, Empower ME: Twelve Sessions for Building Self-esteem in Girls and Journal ME: A Journal for Girls. Her poetry and creative non-fiction have been published in Cardinal Sins , Riverrun , Walloon Writers Review , Bear River Review , and The Dunes Review. Helen has an M.A. in English and teaches composition at Saginaw Valley State University. Here, she has served as the director of the university’s writing center and the former Bay City/Saginaw community writing center. She has moonlighted as a grant writer and a freelance writer for The Des Moines Register and Bay City Times. Helen lives with her husband and her dog in Bellaire, MI, where she hikes, snowshoes, and reads on her front porch.