Writing and Meditation is a course for students interested in intersections between creativity and contemplative practice. No previous experience is necessary. Curiosity and openness to multiple traditions of mindfulness is encouraged. In each module we'll explore a different approach to present awareness and writing. Course materials and practices will include focus on: attention, movement, gazing, listening, dreaming, metacognition and healing. We'll read sacred and secular texts spanning time and place from the Spanish mystic Téresa of Avila, to current brain science on neuroplasticity and how meditation and creative practice can rewire the brain. We'll read contemporary poets such as Zen priest Norman Fischer and spiritual luminaries such as Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche and Pema Chodron. We'll also explore visionary visual artists such as Hilma af Klimt and musicians including Alice Coltrane and Laraajji. Students will write in response to written and audio prompts, receive peer and instructor feedback on their work, and compile a portfolio of writing created throughout the course.
You have the option to enroll in the individual course without committing to the entire Certificate in Creative Writing, enjoying the flexibility and expertise offered by Penn LPS Online to suit your schedule and interests.
*Academic credit is defined by the University of Pennsylvania as a course unit (c.u.). A course unit (c.u.) is a general measure of academic work over a period of time, typically a term (semester or summer). A c.u. (or a fraction of a c.u.) represents different types of academic work across different types of academic programs and is the basic unit of progress toward a degree. One c.u. is usually converted to a four-semester-hour course.
- Poet, prose writer, teacher and editor
Laynie Browne is a poet, prose writer, teacher, and editor. She is the author of 13 collections of poems and three novels. Her most recent collections of poems include You Envelop Me (Omnidawn, 2017), P R A C T I C E (SplitLevel, 2015), and Scorpyn Odes (Kore Press, 2015). Her honors include a 2014 Pew Fellowship, the National Poetry Series Award (2007) for her collection The Scented Fox, and the Contemporary Poetry Series Award (2005) for her collection… Read more
