Cloak and Jaguar: Following a Cat from Desert to Courtroom

Living in Southern Oregon, we’ve followed the comings and goings of a gray wolf named OR-7. When it dipped into Northern California, it became the first documented wolf in that state in 100 years. But now that we have named this animal, we must live with the constant fear that it will be harmed by …

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Book Review: The Vegan Studies Project

Donald Watson is widely credited with having coined the term “vegan” in 1944, when he and others founded the Vegan Society. Since then, the word has become so heavily loaded with cultural and emotional baggage (both pro and con) that an increasing number of vegan restaurants and food brands I come across now use the words “plant-based” instead. But I like …

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Do Unto Animals: A Guide to Raising a More Compassionate Family

I grew up around cats, so it always struck me as odd when people didn’t understand what a cat’s purr signified. Then again, I did not grow up around cows or goats or sheep and don’t understand their behaviors. You have to learn how to live among animals. How to read the languages they speak through their body …

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Flight Ways: Birds living on the dull edge of extinction

In Flight Ways: Life and Loss at the Edge of Extinction, environmental philosopher Thom van Dooren tells the stories of five species of bird: Albatross Little Penguin Indian Vulture Whooping Crane Hawaiian Crow Each species sheds light on a different “extinction story.” We begin with the albatross — birds that spend most of their lives gliding inches above the sea, …

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Beyond Words: The more we study animals, the smarter they get

In Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel, Carl Safina sets out on a global journey to listen to and understand animals on their terms and not ours. By the end of this book, I can guarantee that readers will come away with a greater appreciation for the self-awareness, intelligence, and empathy of the animals we share this planet …

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The Fourth River now accepting submissions that tackle climate change

Chatham University literary journal The Fourth River is now accepting poetry, fiction and nonfiction for a special supplement addressing climate change: The Fourth River wants to hear how writers approach the concept of “climate change” in a theme insert to be included in our 13th print issue, scheduled for spring, 2016. We want to hear your …

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Introducing Zoomorphic

It’s always exciting to see a new literary journal launch with a focus on environment writing. So please welcome Zoomorphic, a new online journal founded by James Roberts and Susan Richardson and “dedicated to writing that deepens our connection with wildlife and the more-than-human world.” I recently conducted a brief Q&A to learn a bit more. Here …

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Orion book award winners: The Bees and Feral

Orion Magazine has announced its 2015 Book Award winners: Non-fiction winner: Feral: Rewilding the Land, the Sea, and Human Life, by George Monbiot (University of Chicago Press), Finalists: A Country Called Childhood, by Jay Griffiths (Counterpoint) The Sixth Extinction, by Elizabeth Kolbert (Henry Holt and Company) > See the EcoLit Books Review by Midge Raymond Windfall, by …

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J. M. Coetzee (and many others) push for an end to animal testing

The Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics has issued an important report that calls for the “de-normalisation of animal experimentation.” The report is backed by numerous scientists, scholars, theologians and writers, such as Coetzee. You can view the report here. According to the report: The deliberate and routine abuse of innocent, sentient animals involving harm, pain, suffering, …

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ASLE announces 2015 book award finalists

The Association for the Study of Literature and Environment has announced the finalists for their bi-annual book awards: Creative Award Finalists: Bitten: My Unexpected Love Affair with Florida by Andrew Furman (memoir/essays) The Small Heart of Things: Being at Home in a Beckoning World by Julian Hoffman (creative nonfiction) Dark. Sweet. by Linda Hogan (poetry) …

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Insects and the people who love them: A review of “A Buzz in the Meadow”

In A Buzz in the Meadow: The Natural History of a French Farm by Dave Goulson, insects are given the respect they are due. For it is insects, in all their weird and wild ways, that keep this planet, and us, alive. The book tells the story about the author’s adventures after having purchased a French farm …

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The Chain picks up where The Jungle leaves off

The Chain: Farm, Factory, and the Fate of Our Food, by Ted Genoways, is an important work of reporting. Based on years of interviews and tireless research, the book spans the length of our food system, focused largely on Hormel Foods, the makers of Spam. It covers the tragically interconnected plight of the workers and of the animals. …

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Fourth River announces theme issue: Queering Nature

The literary journal Fourth River is now accepting submissions for a special issue themed Queering Nature: Guest-edited by Dakota Garilli and Michael Walsh, The Fourth River’s second online issue, to launch in Fall of 2015, will focus on Queering Nature, and we’re looking for your best, most innovative nature and place-based writing in any genre or …

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