with Zakiya McKenzie
Celebrate Emily Brontë’s birthday with nature poet Zakiya McKenzie
In this nature writing workshop, renowned poet Zakiya McKenzie will guide you in exploring the symbiotic relationship between literature and the natural environment through investigation of the works of the Brontë sisters.
From windswept moors to far-flung shores, we will explore deep-rooted themes of solitude, passion, and spirituality as told through the diverse landscapes that shaped the Brontës' writings.
We will delve into depictions of the wild moorlands such as in Emily Brontë's
Wuthering Heights, as well as the mesmerizing landscapes of Anne Brontë's
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. We will also look at the influence of the Caribbean on Charlotte Brontë's
Jane Eyre, a narrative that intertwines the English countryside with the West Indies, to better understand how we too can find connections between different environments in writing them together.
Tickets: £15/ £10 concession
Date: Sunday 30 July, 10am - 1pm
Suitable for ages 12+
As part of our commitment to increasing participation in our events, a limited number of concession tickets are available. Select this option if you would like to attend but for whatever reason are unable to afford the standard price.
Photo credit: Adrian Sherratt
About Zakiya McKenzie
Zakiya McKenzie is a PhD candidate at the University of Exeter researching the history of Black British journalism in the postwar period.
Zakiya has a deep interest in the natural environment and by extension, climate justice; she was a 2017 Black and Green Ambassador at Ujima Radio in Bristol while her 2018 master’s degree looked at the environmental and social implications of petroleum extraction in Guyana. In 2019 she was a writer-in-residence for Forestry England and in 2020 she wrote and recorded
The Forest, for BBC Radio 4 Night Vision podcast series drawing parallels between the Blue Mountains of Jamaica and the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire.
Her 2021 historical fiction pamphlet
Testimonies on the History of Jamaica Vol 1 (Rough Trade Books) presents an imaginary discourse among 16th and 17th century Jamaicans in rebuttal to Edward Long’s infamous polemic, The History of Jamaica (1774).
