Knowing Our Place

“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.” ~Martin Buber

I have been reading a collection of essays by Barbara Kingsolver from her book Small Wonders. Kingsolver’s books and essays are some of my most beloved readings and would you believe she has an essay in this book called, “Knowing Our Place”? How fitting is that? Her descriptions of her two homes in the beginning of the essay make my mouth water with desire. I wish I could write like that! She describes things so well that I can smell the vegetables in her garden and I can see the bobcat that looks her in the eyes through her window. Kingsolver says, “Among the greatest of all gifts is to know our place.” I have come to Italy to write about place – physical place, for place, places of the heart, the spirit of place, the people of place, and so on. By looking at a new place, it has helped me make connections and comparisons with my own. It seems stepping away to look at my place from a different perspective helps me to understand it better. At the introduction of Small Wonders, Kingsolver says that many of the essays in this book inhaled and expanded. That’s my wish for my writing while in Italy. I hope to take time to breath, to stop, to inhale it all in; then to remember and to write. I hope what I learn here is something that I can pass on to my students so they understand themselves and their place better. Kingsolver’s essay, “Knowing Our Place” begins, “I have places where all my stories begin.” Throughout my time in Italy, I intend to gather the places where my stories begin as a diving point into my tales. I’ve begun my “deep map” exercise to help me with the process of mapping out places and collecting ideas. I will discuss my “deep map” at a later time….