Workshop – “Wisdom Sits in Places”: Creative Writing About the Natural World

Instructor: Poet, photographer, and scholar, Kimberly Blaeser, is the Wisconsin Poet Laureate.  A Professor at UW—Milwaukee, she teaches Creative Writing, Native American Literature, and American Nature Writing. Her publications include three books of poetry:Trailing You, Absentee Indians and Other Poems, and Apprenticed to Justice. Her creative work in poetry, creative non-fiction, and short fiction, frequently arises from a relationship with the natural world and has been included in more than fifty volumes whose titles are as varied as The Colours of Nature, Sing: Poems from the Indigenous Americas, and Women on Hunting.

The Course: Using the natural areas found at the UWM Field Station and inspired by both Native mythic accounts and the works of natural history writers and eco-poets, this course will invite participants to create works of poetry, creative non-fiction, and mixed-genre arising from their engagement with the natural world.  These writings will include haiku and other poetry, personal nature essays, and works combining artistic genres.  Class time will be divided between expeditions exploring the bogs, fields, forests, and ponds; sessions discussing sample readings and focusing on writing craft; and the process of writing, reflecting, and “translating” our nature experiences into creative works.  Students need no prior experience in ecology or writing to benefit from this course.  All levels of expertise are encouraged to enroll.

Workshop fee: $105.00. Available for 1.4 CEU or 1 college credit. There is an additional tuition fee for college credit.