"Nature writers of color instead emphasize relating with the Earth. Nature writers of color instead emphasize relating with the Earth. Today’s nature writers of color know differently, and Lorde knew it long ago: Writing about nature is writing about feelings and relationships, because our relationship with nature is constantly related to how we learn and think about ourselves. Since reading Lorde’s poetry, I began teaching a workshop called “Reclaiming Nature Writing.” When I ask participants what they received from the course, an answer I hear often is “permission.” Too many writers still believe their stories about race, sexuality, or ancestry don’t count as nature writing. Once they read writers of color who validate their own unique relationship to nature, they allow themselves to write their own stories.