Earth Etudes for Elul 5785

Earth Etudes for Elul are short (preferably very short!) reflections on teshuvah (return, change, repentance) in the context of the Earth. In the past, people have written about climate change, gardening, hiking, the spiritual aspects of connecting to the more-than-human world, shmita (seven year land cycle), and more. There have been poetry, essays, photo essays, personal experiences, text-based reflections, and all of these are welcome.

If you are not familiar with the etudes, you can find examples if you look back through the appropriate months in recent years here. This will be the 13th year online, and there is also a print collection that was published in 2018. A brief set of guidelines can be found below.

If you would like to write and submit an Earth Etude, please fill out this brief form. Once you’ve indicated your interest, please know Etudes are due Tuesday, August 12 to provide enough time for review and compilation.

Thank you for your contributions!

Earth Etudes for Elul Writing Guidelines

Here are some important things to keep in mind as you write:

• What to write about:

  • Include a connection to Earth, nature, the environment, sustainability, climate change, or some other aspect of our one Earth – the only planet that we know has life on it.

  • Include a connection to teshuvah. This can be a spiritual kind of return or a return through one’s words or deeds.

  • Please be inclusive.  These etudes will be read by people from a range of backgrounds and opinions.  Our intent is to open the readers’ hearts to finding beauty in our world and committing themselves to its care.

• Length guidelines: submissions should be 250-500 words. Fewer words are better. Submissions over 500 words may be shortened to adhere to this limit and by submitting a longer piece, you agree to have your writing shortened.

• Photos: We’ll be posting all Etudes on social media, so we’ll need a photo and we’d prefer to use one of yours, something that illustrates your etudes. (We’re not including pictures of writers.)

• Deadline: The deadline for delivery of etudes is Tuesday, August 12. Reminders will be sent weekly leading up to this deadline and daily during the final few days.

• Format: Your format can be prose, poetry, or a story in pictures.

• Have fun, and most importantly, write from your heart.

• How to submit: You can submit your Etude in a Word document or Google doc, or if it’s a video, in whatever format we can post and share. Submissions should be sent to earthetudes@gmail.com

Fill out this brief form to express your interest in writing for this year’s Earth Etudes.