In Irish, the word dindsenchas means, the lore of places. Places are holders of deep wisdom, allowing generations to define and redefine their identity against the timelessness of location. As writers, it is our responsibility to constantly (re)engage with place - responding to its stimuli and lensing its meaning through our prose.

In craft, place is often forgotten when a writer develops an early work-in-progress, favoring instead perhaps more enticing devices such as character or plot. But what if we considered place as a character itself? What if we treated place as a fundamental motivator which drives narrative forward? In this class, partly driven by close reading and partly by responsive generative prompts, we'll take several opportunities to engage with place within ourselves and our work. We'll look to the work of Katrina Carrasco, Toni Morrison, and Sasha taqʷšəblu LaPointe for inspiration and guidance. 

This is a free workshop, however, we do have a limited class size. Please RSVP to guarantee your spot!

Caitlin M. Andrews holds a fully-funded MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Miami. Her words can be found in Electric Literature, Short Édition, New Square, the Waterproof Anthology, The New Limestone Review, and elsewhere, and she’s received support from GrubStreet, Hugo House, and Sancho Panza Literary Society. FIREWEED IN THE VEIL, Caitlin’s novel-in-progress, is a braided queer historical adventure set during the Irish War for Independence. Her novel is a finalist for the Marianne Russo Award and was selected as a semi-finalist for a 2021 Fulbright Scholarship in Research to Ireland. She currently manages events for Hugo House and DigiPen Institute of Technology. When not writing, Caitlin is known to get lost in the woods, seek out a cozy bookshop or art museum, and listen to silly D&D podcasts. Learn more at caitlinmandrews.com.