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creative writing micros
that share science
The Microclimate Project seeks to promote scientific literacy through creative writing. Whether it's how frogs rely on specific water temperatures or how trees are adapting to changing climates, we want to read it -- and we want to publish it on trees across the Geneseo campus
This April, the first annual Poetry/Tree+ Festival will run from April 20th to May 11th. Come find short pieces of prose and poetry, read them, and learn something about the living world around you.
To Submit click here
Perhaps it's the number of trees per person on Earth.
Perhaps it's the existence of a sea rose that only releases pollen in response to the vibrations of a specific kind of African bee.
We're asking you to share what you know from science through writing short creative pieces, or "micros." Your piece can be prose or poetry; it should be shorter than 365 words.
We'll be publishing these on trees around campus in late April to help increase science literacy through creative writing. This "Poet/Tree+ Anthology" will be up for three weeks, heading towards the end of this academic year. This project is part of Ideas That Matter: Climate Change & the Individual, supported by the Science Communication microcredential.
We especially invite submissions that help raise awareness of the science around climate change, but welcome any submissions rooted in scientific ideas, terms, and concepts.
We're looking for submissions from students, staff, faculty, and community members. You can find resources for sourcing science, gaining inspiration from creative pieces, and identifying some climate/action steps at this website. You can also find out about some writing workshops and Publishing & Creativity Studio opportunities to help you create. For questions, please contact Lytton Smith, smith@geneseo.edu.
Perhaps you don't primarily think of yourself as a scientist or as a writer. But we all know the world through what we know of its science, and we all have the potential to weave words together so that someone else can know that science too. Please help us share science and science action through creative writing!
Guidelines
Your micro should be up to 365 words long, accompanied by a reliable scientific source supporting the science it shares (see here for tips or contact us), ideally accompanied by an action step (volunteer at the eGarden; join Geneseo's beekeeping club). For action tips, see here. In addition to your 365 creative words, provide ~150 words about who you are and why you chose this science. You might find inspiration from the Treehouse Climate Action Poem Prize, such as this one.