Karen Gettert Shoemaker
- Fiction and Creative Nonfiction Mentor
- MFA in Writing
Additional Information
Biography
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 is being 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.
She is a writing mentor with the University of Nebraska Omaha’s MFA in Writing and founder of Larksong Writers’ Place, an organization of independent writing workshops, manuscript consulting, and community-building for aspiring writers.
Teaching Philosophy
“Writing is a way to engage in conversations with past, present, and future generations, and the importance of the art and craft of writing cannot be understated. Learning to write well is learning to think clearly—a skill that serves the individual, as well as the community.
"My philosophy about teaching writing is quite simple: you learn to write by writing; you learn to grow as a writer by considering what you've written. My approach with students is to enter into a dialogue: Where are you? Where do you want to be? Then I dig in my big black bag of experience and education and offer some ways to get there. My goal is to keep you writing, writing carefully and truthfully, always seeking the writing that matters."
Additional Information
Biography
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 is being 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.
She is a writing mentor with the University of Nebraska Omaha’s MFA in Writing and founder of Larksong Writers’ Place, an organization of independent writing workshops, manuscript consulting, and community-building for aspiring writers.
Teaching Philosophy
“Writing is a way to engage in conversations with past, present, and future generations, and the importance of the art and craft of writing cannot be understated. Learning to write well is learning to think clearly—a skill that serves the individual, as well as the community.
"My philosophy about teaching writing is quite simple: you learn to write by writing; you learn to grow as a writer by considering what you've written. My approach with students is to enter into a dialogue: Where are you? Where do you want to be? Then I dig in my big black bag of experience and education and offer some ways to get there. My goal is to keep you writing, writing carefully and truthfully, always seeking the writing that matters."