The Unseen Scene: Writing the Body into Place, An Evening with author Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle

The Ramsey Center for Appalachian Studies, in partnership with the Indigenous Student Association and the Center for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, presents: The Unseen Scene: Writing the Body into Place, An Evening with author Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle

This event will be held on Zoom and in-person in Day Hall 303 (simultaneously). Zoom link will be sent out via Daily Announcements and COVID safety protocols will be followed for the in-person event: masks are required and social distancing will mean that space is limited.

There will be a raffle for a copy (two available) of Even as We Breathe, signed by the author! Sign up at event (all MHU student attendees are eligible, both zoom and in-person).

By engaging our own bodies in the artistry and craft of writing, we can enliven scenes for our readers. Both the reading and writing process become organically connected in the motion and movement of life. This discussion will focus on how structure, observation and practice attuned to physicality can enrich the sense of place for a reader.

Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle, who will be joining us via Zoom, is an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and resides in Qualla, NC with her husband, Evan and sons Ross and Charlie. She holds degrees from Yale University and the College of William and Mary. Her debut novel, Even As We Breathe, was released by the University Press of Kentucky in 2020. Her first novel manuscript, Going to Water, is winner of the Morning Star Award for Creative Writing from the Native American Literature Symposium (2012) and a finalist for the PEN/Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction (2014). Clapsaddle’s work has appeared in Yes! Magazine, Lit Hub, Smoky Mountain Living Magazine, South Writ Large and The Atlantic. After serving as executive director of the Cherokee Preservation Foundation, Annette returned to teaching at Swain County High School. She is the former co-editor of the Journal of Cherokee Studies and serves on the board of trustees for the North Carolina Writers Network.

This event is geared towards MHU students, but if you are a community member or alum who wishes to join in, you are more than welcome to join us virtually. Please register here.