Writing on the Snake River with Annick Smith

Fishtrap Offers Writing Adventure on Snake River with author Annick Smith

For the second year, Oregon literary nonprofit Fishtrap teams up with Winding Waters River Expeditions to offer an adventure in writing on the Snake River in Hells Canyon. From August 26-31, 2010, Writing On the River floats members of a wilderness workshop through a classroom setting much larger than most students are used to. The visual aids are impressive, stretching for miles inside the deepest gorge in North America. Participants in the course will explore Hells Canyon, along with their writing craft, for five days on the Snake River with Montana author and film producer Annick Smith. Work will concentrate on connections among ‘Memory, Place and Story,’ in a canyon rich with all three. Play takes care of itself, as getting to your next classroom or campsite may involve running a series of whitewater rapids with a guide, paddling a kayak or hiking a rim of the canyon.

The trip includes catered meals closer to fine dining than what you might expect from an outdoor kitchen. Winding Waters River Expeditions of Joseph, Oregon, provides all camping and river equipment, along with experienced guides, a spotless safety record and transportation once you reach the town of Joseph.

Annick Smith brings a wide range of expertise to the course, as an accomplished memoir writer, essayist, editor and film producer. She is the author of the memoir Homestead, a collection of essays, In This We Are Native, and a history of the tallgrass prairies, Big Bluestem. She was co-editor with William Kittredge of the Montana anthology The Last Best Place, and her work has appeared in Story, Outside,
Orion, Audubon, Travel & Leisure, and the NY Times Traveler.

Smith was executive producer of the film Heartland, and co-producer of A River Runs Through It, directed by Robert Redford. Her documentary credits include The Real People, a public television series about seven tribes in the Inland Northwest, and a portrait of poet Richard Hugo, Kicking the Loose Gravel Home. She has taught creative writing at the University of Montana as well as numerous writing workshops and conferences.

Writing On the River is sponsored by Fishtrap, the literary non-profit in northeast Oregon promoting “clear thinking and good writing in and about the West.” Cost for the trip is $1295 for adults, $1170 for children. A portion of the cost ($150) is a tax-deductible contribution to Fishtrap. For registration or more information, visit www.fishtrap.org or call (541) 426-3623. Winding Waters River Expeditions also has details at www.windingwatersrafting.com.

Written by ITKT Media Partners