English Teacher Publishes Novel "Waterlines" about a Minnesota Lake
September 22, 2022
If lake country is your dream land, add this newly published novel by a CDH teacher and alum, to your reading list this year.
Author Jenny Markert ‘83, who teaches English at CDH and is also a Derham Hall graduate, launched her novel Waterlines, (Elder Eye Press, Minnetonka, MN), at a book party held at the Dakota Lodge in West St. Paul this past August. Markert also has over 30 children’s books published through NatureBooks and The Child’s World.
Waterlines is described as a coming-of-age story, a love story, a murder mystery, a tale of survival, and an elegy for ecology and the American dream. Set in Minnesota lake country, it will become familiar to those who are mesmerized - or want to be - by water’s lines and music and echoes, and who are in awe of its sacred connection to ourselves.
Markert grew up, like many Minnesotans do, spending her summer vacations up north at a lake. She says she has witnessed many changes to the lake country, and she wanted to capture what lake life was like during the 1980s, when she was a kid.
Through Waterlines, she draws attention to how much humans need nature, not only for survival, but also to enrich our lives, make memories, find inspiration, and to nurture our mental health—to build communities, and create culture.
Waterlines Features Important Themes Often Reflected in her Classes
Markert says she definitely emphasizes the themes she writes about in Waterlines in her classes at CDH as well. She teaches U.S. literature and loves to use nature as one of her year-long motifs in the class: to see how different writers see nature, and how humans’ attitudes and understanding of nature change over time.
She also teaches senior English and makes climate and culture her overarching unifying themes for the year. She guides her students through a year-long developed capstone paper and project, emphasizing self-driven topics and exploration.
“I like to use nature as inspiration for my classroom, too,” says Markert. “I love that nature loves diversity, and I love it as one of our CDH values too. I celebrate all the different ideas students bring to the classroom, through their own curiosity, our discussions, and in their research. It really does crescendo in May, to see them blossom their ideas into something concrete, substantial, well…. It’s like writing a book—it’s a process that teaches you as much about yourself as the topic of the project does. I feel so privileged and blessed to get to be a part of it.”
15 Year Process
“This book took me fifteen years to write,” says Markert, “This story and its themes are things I think about every day; I attempted to create a story that is a metaphor for our times.”
She admits she has had a desire to write a novel for as far back as she can remember, so Waterlines is particularly special. Having been an English teacher for over twenty years, Markert says she’s been exposed to reading some of the greatest books ever written. She is also inspired by getting to talk about books with her colleagues, who also of course love books, and her students, who have a whole different perspective on everything.
Early reviews applaud Markert for her skill in crafting a story that carries readers through the pages. One reviewer writes, “It takes a skillful writer to weave the human and environmental stories so well. Jenny Markert’s novel is genuinely relatable and relevant for us all today, whether we grew up near water or not. Her attention to detail honors both people and planet, and also enlivens them.”
Waterlines, by Jenny Markert is now available on Amazon. “I would be delighted to sign it for you,” exclaimed Markert! “Come to see me in my classroom or email me - this story offers a way to look at the future with some hope. It is a metaphor for our time.”