Writing about the environment is not the province of the rich, the country-dwelling, and the white poet. Asian American poets and writers have been expanding their ideas of the natural world to be expansive, including human-made structure and infrastructures as being natural. They write starting with where they are located. In this three-hour workshop you will explore place-based writing the environment in the natural world of New York City and how reflections of the self echo our own attitudes towards how we regard the “natural world.” Together, we will consider race, settler colonialism, capitalism, ecological collapse, and restoration as well as how poets have answered, re-answered, and rewritten the central questions of nature writing today. With this as a sigil, in our time together, you will draft at least one new poem or piece of short prose.

__

Poet, memoirist, and translator, Rajiv Mohabir is the author of five books of poetry and has been awarded two gold medals from the Foreword INDIES and Eric Hoffer Medal Provocateur. His other honors include being a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, the PEN/America Open Book Award, the Lambda Literary Award, the Randy Shilts Award for Gay Nonfiction, and both second place and finalist for the Guyana Prize for Literature. His translations have won the Harold Morton Landon Translation Award from the Academy of American Poets. Currently he teaches poetry at the University of Colorado Boulder.

__

COMMUNITY CARE & ACCESSIBILITY

At AAWW, the safety and comfort of our community is our top priority. We invite you to practice intentionality and care in your behavior and language when engaging with our programs and with each other. Violence of any kind, including but not limited to racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, ageism, class or casteism, bigotry or bias toward religion or faith, or any action or assault against marginalized identities, is not tolerated. Those who bring harm to our community in person or online are not welcome, and will be asked to exit the space.

We are located on the 18 West 21st Street, Suite 900, there is an elevator that will take you directly to our office. Masks are strongly encouraged for audience members for all AAWW events; if you forget yours, one will be provided for you. We have two commercial grade air purifiers. We highly encourage all in person guests to take a COVID test at home prior to the event. If you have had COVID or have had known contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID in the 10 days prior, we ask you tune in for the live stream instead. Please reach out to msaleh@aaww.org for additional accessibility requests, including ADA accessible bathrooms, chairs with added back support, and beyond. This space is for YOU!