In conjunction with Bemidji’s Monarch Festival, join local author Maureen Gibbon for a generative writers workshop on Tuesday, September 22 from 6 to 7:30pm in Watermark Art Center’s Education Studio.

Magical realism is a genre which allows us to explore how the impossible can break through into our everyday lives. In this generative writing class, we’ll look at a few short examples of magical realism, complete some in-class exercises, and consider the world through wondrous eyes. Be prepared to go home with a few pages of ideas for inviting the magical into your creative life.

Suggested reading before class: “Mermaid Fever” by Steven Millhauser, which is available for free online at https://harpers.org/archive/2009/12/mermaid-fever/ .

Class size: limited to 15. Intended audience: adults with some writing experience. Online registration IS required for this event at a sliding scale from $5 to $15. Register and Pay here →

Additionally Gibbon will host an evening of fiction reading and conversation about discovering Minnesota’s unique magical realism on Saturday September 19 beginning at 6:30pm at Watermark. No charge for this event.

Maureen Gibbon is a 2026 Minnesota Arts Board Recipient and author of four novels and a prose poetry collection. She also wrote a phenology column for the Park Rapids Enterprise for years. She lives in Bemidji. Author’s website https://maureengibbon.com/

Watermark galleries are accessible with no admission fee and open to the public Monday – Saturday from 10 to 5pm and located at 505 Bemidji Avenue N. in Bemidji, Minnesota. For more information regarding events, classes and exhibits visit watermarkartcenter.org or call 218-444-7570.

What is “Magical Realism”? It’s a genre of writing styles. Originating in Latin America, magical realism combines elements of fantasy fiction with mundane details of reality. What makes it magical realism and not fantasy fiction is that reality is imposed upon the fantasy, not the other way around.