Gracias al destierro, conocimos la tierra.

– María Zambrano

two female authors

two books

two languages

one land


Two female authors: Clara Obligado, an Argentine-Spanish writer, and Robin Wall Kimmerer, an American botanist and writer. And two books: Todo lo que crece: Naturaleza y escritura by Clara Obligado and Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer.

“To be native to a place we must learn to speak its language.”

― Robin Wall Kimmerer

bilingualism

common language that separates us

the loss and death of the language of the land

the birth of our own language

Clara Obligado, Argentinian exiled in Spain, and Robin Wall Kimmerer, indigenous Potawatomi citizen, explore the connection between their indigenous language and the land and the impact their displacement had. 

"Lo que no tiene nombre no existe" (What doesn't have a name doesn't exist), says Clara Obligado. 

Through the different essays that form both books, we'll explore the act of writing, nature, the land, words and languages as way to belong to the land we inhabit, the language we speak and to ourselves. This self-study course, it's an exploration of a natural and linguistic path home.

Find your way home to yourself

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Course curriculum

  • 1
    0. Los libros / The books
  • 2
    1· female authors. the act of writing. / autoras. el acto de escribir
    • 1. Clara Obligado
    • 2. Robin Wall Kimmerer
    • On writing / Sobre la escritura
  • 3
    2. naturaleza y la tierra / nature and the land
    • nature / la naturaleza
    • land / la tierra
  • 4
    3. palabras e idiomas / words and languages
    • separated by a common language / separados por la misma lengua
    • the loss of the language of land / la pérdida del lenguaje de la tierra
    • birthing our own language / pariendo nuestro propio lenguaje
  • 5
    4. pertenencia / belonging
    • belonging to the land / pertenecer a la tierra
    • I belong here / pertenezco aquí
  • 6
    5. Last questions / Últimas preguntas
    • last considerations / últimas consideraciones
    • what now? / ¿y ahora qué?

Instructor(s)

  • Maria Ortega

    Embodied Language Coach

    Maria Ortega

    I am an embodied language coach. I advocate for self-expression and the full expression of identity. This encompasses being your confidence coach, a writer, educator, facilitator, and poetry therapy practitioner.

    Relevant education
    • Trauma-Informed Teaching, delivered by educational consultant Ryhan Nadji (2022)
    • Intercultural Awareness, HSE, Ireland (2022)
    • “Understanding trauma and supporting the needs of people fleeing war and/or persecution”, webinar delivered by Jennifer Hayes, Department of Psychology, HSE, Ireland (2022)
    • Poetry Therapy Practitioner (in training) by iaPoetry (2021)
    • Emotional learning based on thought training by Instituto Cervantes (2017)
    • Transforming Business, Society and Self with u.Lab (Online, MIT X, 2016)
    • DELE and SIELE examiner by Instituto Cervantes (2014, 2016)
    • Diploma Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language by Instituto Cervantes (2011)
    • MA. in Scenery Arts by Universidad de Burgos. (2008)
    • BA. in Humanities (Applied Languages) by Universidad de Burgos (2005)


    Informal research and training in embodied/experiential learning, integrational lingüistics, identity, multiculturalism and multilingualism, creative writing.