Haunted by Futility or Saving the World: Writing Climate Crisis

Haunted by Futility or Saving the World: Writing Climate Crisis

with Erica Watson

Details: This two-week class series will consist of two 3-hour sessions.
Dates: April 7 and April 14, 2024 (class meets weekly on Sunday)
Time: 1-4pm AKT
Location: Virtual (Zoom)

Description: Whether climate change is the primary subject or serves as backdrop, it infuses much of our writing with urgency, anger, or confusion – sometimes all at once. This class will examine common challenges writers face in making meaning of our experiences of a rapidly changing world, whether we intend to bear witness, demand action, or invoke emotional response.
The first session will focus on reading and discussion. We will look at texts across genres, from literary criticism to science fiction, and interrogate how various forms and techniques contribute to the overall effect on the reader. Participants will have the chance to revise or draft new work, and in the second session, we will share and respond to each other’s writing. We will likely come away with more questions than answers, but hopefully they’ll prompt fuller awareness in how we write climate.
As this topic demands hybridity, writers of all genres and levels are welcome. Some experience/comfort with sharing and discussing one’s work is recommended.

Pricing and Registration: This event is open to member and non-members. Non-member registration will open on February 1, 2023.

• Member price: $120/person
• Non-member price: $150/person

Refund and Cancellation Policy: If the event or class is cancelled for reasons beyond 49 Writers’s control, all fees will be refunded in full. In the event that an attendee is unable to attend for personal reasons, fees are nonrefundable.

About the Instructor: Erica Watson grew up primarily in the Southwestern US, and has lived on the boundary of Denali National Park, on traditional Ahtna lands, since 2010. Her writing centers the intersection of human and nonhuman worlds, community, and climate change. She earned her MFA in creative nonfiction at the University of Alaska Anchorage, where she was a recipient of the Jason Wenger Award for Excellence in Writing. Erica was a 2016 Fishtrap Fellow, and a 2022 Storyknife resident. Her work has most recently appeared in Panorama, AK Humanities Forum Magazine, and Cutthroat Journal. Read more at ericarobinwatson.com.