Creative non-fiction taught by Latina artist & educator Elizabeth Marino

This is an invitation for the Latino community to join Latina poet and writer, Elizabeth Marino on her quest to put a Latino imprint on the new genre of creative non-fiction.  Marino is a talented artist and educator who has been part of the dedicated adjunct faculty in the English Department at NEIU for the last decade.  

Marino will be teaching a free creative non-fiction workshop that is open to everyone in the Latino community on Saturday, Mar. 13 from 2-4 p.m. at NEIU's El Centro location on Pulaski and Belmont.   Marino is coming into her own with the support of English Department Chair Dr. Tim Libretti, who bundled her once-rejected Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI)Grant Project  proposal under the banner of the English program's own HSI grant proposal.

"Latino students are the biggest percentage of drop-outs from college. We need to develop a form of communication that can go back and forth between the expectations of home, work and school.  Latino students in particular  need to have a door to explore life transitions through writing. We need the opportunity to envision ourselves in professional environments," Marino said during an interview in Lincoln Square,  "I see it as bringing journalism and story-telling together in a more emotionally connected, subjective way.  You don't apologize for the 'I'."

Marino ought to know, as a high school student she refused to cover the easy society issues such as dances and showed her political activism through covering school board meetings and writing about such vital issues as the preferential treatment given to male athletes in scheduling classes.   I had an athletic friend-a young woman-who was contemplating dropping out because she couldn't get a morning schedule," said Marino,  "She had already been accepted into the engineering program at MIT, but wanted to drop out because it was so hard for her to get what she needed to succeed.  The newspaper article I wrote really made a difference for her." 

In this way, early on, Marino learned the importance of addressing an audience, as well as the strength that can be found through the development of voice.   She developed such a strong portfolio of work that she was accepted into the exclusive Barat College in Lake Forest, and she also had the opportunity to attend Oxford College for her junior year.   Marino went on the earn her Masters of Arts Degree in English from the Writers Program at the University of Illinois at Chicago.  A veteran teacher with 20 years of experience under her belt, Marino has vast experience as a professional educator as an academic adjunct faculty at the university level.  

"The bad thing is, that there are no benefits." Marino said.

To develop curriculum for this workshop, Marino has enlisted input from her peers in the Latino community.  Authors covered in Marino's class include Martin Espada, Luis Rodriquez, Alberto Urrea, Jorge Borges, Edwardo Galeana and Coco Fusco, all of whom have composed creative non-fiction.  

"People are still trying to define creative non-fiction, which is clearly not essay or story-telling, but a genre all it's own.  It is still taking shape," said Marino.

To register for Marino's workshop and for more information, e-mail her e-marino@neiu.edu.