The course: Nature and the Archive

In this class, we will observe ourselves as natural and consider how our relationships with the natural world were formed. Writers will spend time making meaning at the intersection of our lived experience and the historical record. We will consider the role of nature in our sense of self by troubling dominant narratives about nature and ourselves, crafting nature writing from new perspectives. This course is primarily generative and oriented toward creative nonfiction writers but open to all genre expressions. 

Duration: This class meets over six consecutive Saturdays from 1-4 pm ET from September 9 to October 14, 2023.

Application window: July 25- August 10

The Instructor: Erin Sharkey

Erin Sharkey is a writer, abolition organizer, cultural worker, and film producer based in Minneapolis. She cofounded the Fields at Rootsprings, a retreat and respite space centering LGBTQ and BIPOC folks in central Minnesota, and an experimental arts collective called Free Black Dirt. Erin is the producer of film projects, including Sweetness of Wild, an episodic web film project, and Small Business Revolution, which explored challenges and opportunities for Black-owned businesses in the Twin Cities in the summer of 2021. She is the editor of the book A Darker Wilderness – a vibrant collection of personal and lyric essays in conversation with archival objects of Black history and memory. Sharkey has received fellowships and residencies from the Loft Mentor Series, VONA/Voices, Givens Foundation, Coffee House Press, Bell Museum of Natural History, Jerome Foundation, Black Visions, and the Headwaters Foundation. She has an MFA in creative writing from Hamline University and teaches with the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop.