Aloha ʻĀina and Other Loves: Poetry and Creative Non-Fiction
Aloha ʻĀina is a foundational practice in Hawaiian culture. Roughly translated as love of the land, aloha ‘āina denotes an unwavering commitment to social, cultural, and ecological justice. In this course, you will learn the basic craft of poetry and creative nonfiction through the lens of aloha ʻāina as well as other kinds of love that shape our lives. Of course we will not just be engaging the good, bright, and pretty sides of love. Indeed honest, compelling writing reveals the haunted, dark, and heartbreaking as well.
Whether you are a beginning or practiced writer, this course will allow you to develop your creative writing skills, explore your voice, and participate in a creative community. We will explore poetry in the first three weeks of the session and creative non-fiction in the last three weeks. We will examine works for their craft and technique and then experiment with our own writing exercises. While the writing process is vulnerable, it does not have to be alienating or destructive. Throughout the semester, we will build a learning community that is supportive and thoughtful. As the writing workshop is central to our course, students will participate in at least three workshops during the summer session: two small groups workshops and one longer workshop with the whole class.