Campus Connection

A unique UW-La Crosse project is providing a literary anthology for popular environmental areas in La Crosse. “Between River and Sky: A UWL Ecocritical Literary Anthology for Myrick Park, the La Crosse Marsh and Hixon Forest” is a collection of writings and art by UWL students. Poems and prose excerpts in the collection are accompanied by student art and a brief analysis linking the literature to La Crosse parks and trails. Students from Assistant Professor Kelly Sultzbach’s environmental literature course and Professor Misha Bolstad’s advance graphic design course created the collection. They worked with the La Crosse Parks and Recreation Department, Outdoor Recreation Alliance and Friends of the Marsh. The works will be highlighted during a literary hike with readings beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 17. The hike begins at the marsh trail head in the Myrick Park parking lot. The hike will be led by students who worked on the project: Zachary Allen, Ellie Brown, Sarah Mueller, Dan Sheridan and Taylor Parrish. "The title of the anthology, 'Between River and Sky,' is meant to evoke La Crosse’s unique sense of place, nestled between the Mississippi River which has been so vital to the historical development of La Crosse and the sublime heights of the windy bluffs,” explains Sultzbach. “Symbolically, they also thought the images of river and sky would remind us of the tensions between, on the one hand, an on-the-ground approach to realistic environmental issues and economical concerns, and on the other hand, our ability to imagine new ethical frameworks that would allow us to gain empathy for a more-than-human community and envision innovative solutions for some our most pressing environmental questions.” Sultzbach attended a workshop offered through UW-L’s Undergraduate Research and Creativity office and the Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning. The workshop was part of a Regent’s Research, Economic Development and Innovation grant to embed this undergraduate research experience into her course. The design and images exhibited on the website highlight the ecocritical literary work to help the viewer “gain empathy for the more than human community and persuade those involved to actively consider the environmental concerns of La Crosse,” says Bolstad. Visit the website at: www.betweenriverandsky.org. If you go— What: Literary hike: “Between River and Sky: A UWL Ecocritical Literary Anthology for Myrick Park, the La Crosse Marsh and Hixon Forest” a collection of writings and art by UWL students. When: 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 17 Where: Hike begins at the marsh trail head in the Myrick Park parking lot. Admission: Free