by Charlotte Gutzmer
Since the Middle Ages, humanity has been fascinated with the idea of magic and witches. Even today, Kathryn Nuernberger reminds us how witches throughout history and even into the modern day can inspire activism, understanding, and writing.
Kathryn Nuernberger is an essayist and poet who writes about the history of science and ideas, renegade women, plant medicines, and witches. Her latest book is The Witch of Eye, which is about witches and witch trials. She is also the author of the poetry collections, RUE, The End of Pink, and Rag & Bone, as well as a collection of lyric essays, Brief Interviews with the Romantic Past. Her awards include the James Laughlin Prize from the Academy of American Poets, an NEA fellowship, and notable essays in the Best American series. She teaches in the Creative Writing MFA program at University of Minnesota. This craft talk will be recorded for later viewing.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Kate about her book, The Witch of Eye, her experiences as a professor, and how witchcraft intersects with writing. Read on to learn all about how the history of magic impacts our modern society, how spells can be a form of literature, and how defiance can empower our craft. Then enjoy her virtual craft talk on November 14 at 7PM.
Charlotte Gutzmer: Your book The Witch of Eye is a beautiful exploration of literature, history, and witchcraft; how do these historical accounts of witchcraft influence our modern society?
Kathryn Nuernberger: We live in the future shaped by the past. Witch trials were part of that past – they were part of how our judicial system was conceived, of what we consider credible evidence and reasonable testimony was shaped. Some parts of our present judicial system are better now – our ancestors did at least learn from the Salem Witch trials that accepting spectral evidence in a court of law makes for nightmare scenarios in a community. But in other parts of our judicial system and our society more generally, it is also clear that many people haven’t learned much at all from past atrocities. While it’s true that white women are not demonized as witches nearly so often or so violently as they once were, lots of other people in our society are regularly described as monsters and demons and we see the consequences of that twisted perspective in the prevalence of police shootings of unarmed civilians, in hate crimes, and in countless other acts of bias all around us.
CG: In the description of your craft talk, you write that we “will explore how spells might be understood as a form of literature that calls activism, resistance, connection, and beauty into this world”. Could you write some more about spellcraft as a form of literature?
KN: Spells are an important part of the oral tradition. Some of them use rhyme, rhythm, form in the same way a poem might. Another definition of a spell I really like is “words that make something happen,” which means we might interpret certain kinds of political writing as a form of spellcraft as well.
CG: As a poet, how do you think that witchcraft intersects with lyric? In other words, how can our own writing be a form of magic?
KN: Because a common definition for a spell is “words that make something happen,” it is not unreasonable to consider any act of writing to be a form of magic. I’m partial to the ones that offer readers a gift – insight or hope or solidarity or a plan for radical political transformation.
CG: How did learning about witches and accused witches influence growth in your writing?
KN: Much of what I learned about accused witches came through my readings of testimonies given by the accused in court. In these moments the accused were in very precarious positions – anything they said might save their lives or condemn them. But also anything they confessed to might be an assertion of their integrity and autonomy as people or be a complete compromise and submission to an oppressive system. Most of the people I chose to write about had a moment of profound resistance in their testimony and I tried to learn from those moments how to live with integrity and courage. Sometimes they also showed brilliant ways to thwart and undermine an oppressive regime via the story you tell, and I tried to learn those lessons too.
CG: As a professor in the University of Minnesota’s Creative Writing MFA program, how does your experience teaching affect your perspective on writing?
KN: There’s nothing quite so inspiring as watching a student have an incredible “aha moment” about their own writing. Often I give advice I’ve given a hundred times before, but when that advice lands just right with a student and reveals something to them about their own writing, well to me it feels like I’m learning that strategy again for the first time as well. Students inspire me in many ways, sometimes through their own radical innovations and sometimes by reminding me how valuable it is to keep approaching the blank page every morning with a beginner’s mind that is open to possibilities and experimentation.
CG: Your craft talk will discuss moments of defiance and resistance in witchcraft. How do these acts of defiance and resistance empower individuals, and how can they also empower our craft?
KN: A lot of the spells I saw in the course of researching this book started with a description of a previous time the spell had worked. The logic seemed to be that you needed to have seen the magic work already, in order for the magic to work this time. I think that in order to imagine a more just future, it really helps to be able to find examples of that kind of justice already in place, either in small communities in the present moment or historically. Similarly, in order to engage in defiant acts of resistance against an oppressive regime, it helps to have seen someone do it before. In this book I wanted to create a catalogue of examples to make it possible to repeat the spell again, maybe better and stronger because there were examples in place of how it had previously worked, the next time around.
So what are you waiting for? Register today for Kathryn Nuernberger’s craft talk to take the next step in advancing your craft—both in writing and in magic.