The Sheldon Museum of Art's Hyphen American: Intersections of Identity exhibition invites viewers to reflect on the American experience and on “Americanness” itself through paintings and photographs. Karen Shoemaker will lead a generative writing workshop that offers participants the opportunity to deepen those reflections through guided exercises designed to clarify what they see, what it means to them, and how those insights might become a poem, story, or brief memoir.
Ekphrasis is the practice of responding to visual art through writing. The artwork becomes the starting point. By slowing down to look closely, describe what is present, and explore the emotions and associations the work evokes, participants will move from observation to language—and leave with a draft of their own original writing.
This first part of the workshop will take place on site in the gallery at the Sheldon Museum of Art! Their address is 451 N. 12th St on UNL's campus. Please note that meter parking on N 12th and R St is currently unavailable due to construction. Parking is available at the Que Place Garage and the Larson Building Garage for a fee.
Don't forget to sign up on the Sheldon Museum of Art's website for this first part of the workshop!
Sometimes one draft isn’t enough. For those who would like to keep working, a complimentary revision session will be held at Larksong Writers Place on Saturday, April 25 at 2 pm.
Click here to sign up for part two of the workshop!
Karen Gettert Shoemaker writes fiction, nonfiction, poetry, book reviews, journal entries, and endless lists. Her novel, The Meaning of Names, was selected for the One Book One Nebraska statewide reading program in 2016 and the Omaha Reads community reading program in 2014. It was republished in China in 2020. Her award-winning short story collection, Night Sounds and Other Stories, was published in the US in 2002, and republished in the United Kingdom in 2006. Her work also includes a reflection on the role of ordinary people during a pandemic, which was published in the New York Times in 2020.
She has taught writing at the college level for more than three decades and was a writing mentor with the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s MFA in Writing Program for 15 years. She is the founder and director of Larksong Writers Place, an organization of independent writing workshops, manuscript consulting, and community-building for aspiring writers.