Seeing the world through the eyes of a poet.
Rainforest, Oregon Coast, USA
Since 2007, I've been teaching writers of all ages across a variety of settings and platforms. I worked as a California Poet in the Schools, created summer writing camps for youth in California and Colorado, encouraged high school age writers to find their voice, supported K-12 educators working on their Master's in the Arts, and designed a nurturing space for writers and non-writers to reclaim their creativity.
Looking back, I can see that much of the writing, teaching, and creating I've done has been about reacquainting myself with the shape and behavior of the land, remembering the rhythm of nature, and deepening my connection with the flora, fauna, and fungi of Mother Earth.
Mt. Imbabura, Ecuador
Testimonials
Nature Writing: The True Muse
Fall 2022
Christina does an excellent job providing topics, resources, and assignments that somehow all meld together into perfect lessons. I quickly learned that if I trusted her guidance, it would bring me to a wonderful writing place. She encourages us to find our voice and our stories and our own truth. I love her classes.
Bio
Christina Misen Burress is a published poet and writer, educator, and facilitator on a mission to inspire writers to explore and reclaim their relationship with the natural world as a source for boundless creativity. She is guided by the principle of Nature-Inspired Writing in all her work.
Her experience designing, implementing, and delivering both in-person and online courses and workshops spans 15 years. As a creative content developer with in-depth experience in Earth-based curriculum appealing to all ages, Christina covers a range of topics and modalities from literature, poetry, social justice, indigenous rights, meditation, mindfulness, expressive arts, and creative writing. She supports writers of all levels and ages who are working to find their unique voice. Christina believes that as writers, we are the witnesses and collective voice of our time, and as such, are invited, and called to translate our experiences for generations to come.
She currently teaches at the University of California at San Diego Extended Studies' Creative Writing Certificate Program and previously for the School of Education's Arts in the Curriculum Master’s degree at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Christina is also a Shamanic Reiki Master Teacher. She holds a BA in Rhetoric from the University of California at Berkeley, and an MFA in Creative Writing from Naropa University. She earned an Expressive Arts Certificate from Sky Mountain Institute and a Certificate in Indigenous Cultural Awareness from First Nations Technical Institute.
Recognized for her skills in deep listening, encouraging connection, and curating materials that speak to a variety of audiences, her aim is to increase confidence, inspire creativity, and encourage artistic collaboration with the natural world. Drawing on her passions for ocean health, protection of open spaces, native plants and old growth forests, social equality pertaining to nutritious food, education, safety, and employment, and access to the arts for community and healing, her work encourages a new paradigm of success that includes kindness, compassion, and respect for all, including the magnificent flora, fauna, and fungi that surround us all.
