In Praise of Decay, Compost, and Renewal
Guest Workshop by Sarah Kokernot
A creative writing workshop exploring how plants and fungi are integral to decomposition and also to the creation of rich, healthy earth. Through observing decay, we can see how death transforms singular beings into a multiplicity of connected, living organisms.
Workshop Overview
The contemplation of decay, death, and renewal is essential to understanding our own lives and the living world.
We'll reflect on our own cycles of loss, decay, and renewal, and write poems and letters in praise to the beings who have, in some ways, created us through their own lives: deceased loved ones, hereditary and spiritual ancestors, and the bygone places, stories, and epochs that linger with us even though they're gone.
Class will include:
plant walk
writing prompts
optional sharing of work with community
Participants will leave with a few new pages of prose or poetry.
~ There are only 20 spots available per workshop ~
About Sarah
Sarah Kokernot is a fiction writer, essayist, and lover of the more-than-human world. Her work has appeared in The Best American Short Stories, The New York Times, Tricycle, EPOCH, Michigan Quarterly Review, Crazyhorse, West Branch, Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet, and other publications. She is currently finishing her first novel.
Originally from Kentucky, she lives outside of Chicago with her family. She works as a grant writer and instructor at StoryStudio, a nonprofit creative writing center.
Sign up:
Greenspell Studio Location, Details, & Arrival
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Greenspell Studio is located at N Oakley Blvd and W Fulton St. (333 N Oakley Blvd, Unit 101, Chicago, IL 60612)
5 minute walk from the corner of Western Ave and Grand Ave
10 minute walk from Damen Green Line Stop
6 minute walk from Western Metra Station
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There is plenty of free street parking available on Oakley. Please do not park in the building’s parking lot. This lot is reserved for building tenants only and your car may be towed if you choose to park in the lot.
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Please enter through the door by the loading dock in the parking lot, not through the front door. Ideally the door will be propped open, but the door is locked for any reason, ring the intercom for unit 101 to be buzzed in. Once you’re in, you’ll walk through the loading dock area and our studio is the first door on your left. I always try to provide as much signage as possible to direct you to our space :)
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There are several bathrooms in the common area just down the hall from our studio. These bathrooms are shared with other building tenants and are ADA accessible.
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Greenspell studio is located on the first floor and is wheelchair accessible. All surfaces are cleaned and sanitized before each workshop. We keep workshop size to a minimum to ensure enough space for each participant. Masks are available upon request.
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For the most up-to-date information regarding the workshop, please return to this webpage. You will also receive a workshop reminder prior to the date of the workshop/plant walk. Please add [email protected] to your contacts so emails related to the workshop/plant walk don't get sent to your spam folder.
