Literary Flowers: Using a Literary Garden in the Western Literature Survey to “Plant” Formative Voices and to “Sow” Final Narratives

This article introduces an interdisciplinary service project performed with undergraduate literature students at the University of Idaho in Moscow, Idaho. The project, Literary Flowers, was modeled after New York City’s Library Way and challenged students to plant a “literary garden” of formative voices. Further, it encouraged students to consider cultural translatability: how texts—some centuries old—fit into their final narratives today. This article provides a detailed description of the project, a consideration of its place among similar service projects, and examples of student work and response.