Community through imagination: Marcia Douglas

Community through imagination: Marcia Douglas

From The Ampersand by Erika Randall

June 8, 2025 · 33 min · Season 4 · Episode 4

About this episode

Marcia Douglas discusses her creative process and the role of memory in her writing.

An encounter with the smallest material can spark nostalgia: the first bite of saltfish and home, the texture of satin and standing onstage, just the right weight of rain. While these unexpected free-falls into memory can be a lovely surprise, today's guest reaches intentionally into her imagination and shapes memories into gorgeous narratives of fiction and nonfiction. Marcia Douglas is an author, artist and professor of creative writing at the University of Colorado Boulder. Widely published and a winner of many awards, she discusses growing up in Kingstown, Jamaica, writing in community and her playful-profound approach to creative craft. Visit Marcia's website and learn more about her current creative work. To buy The Marvelous Equations of the Dread, visit New Directions Publishing. Learn more about Marcia's research and creative work on her CU Boulder profile. --- Original music composed by Nelson Walker. Recorded at Interplay Recording and Multimedia. Written and produced by Erika Randall and Tim Grassley. The Ampersand is a production of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder.

People in this episode

Host: Erika Randall

Guest: Marcia Douglas

Topics covered

  • imagination
  • memory
  • creative writing
  • community
  • Jamaica
  • narrative

Keywords

  • Marcia Douglas
  • creative writing
  • imagination
  • memory
  • Jamaica
  • fiction
  • nonfiction

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Colorado Boulder, New Directions Publishing

Places: Kingstown, Jamaica

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