Essays
Book Review: A Darker Wilderness, edited by Erin Sharkey
New this year from Milkweed Editions is a must-read essay collection of powerful Black nature writing. Originated and edited by Erin Sharkey, A Darker Wilderness: Black Nature Writing from Soil …
Submission Weekend thoughts…
Labor Day weekend was, for me, Submission Weekend. Many literary journals are now open for submissions, and I’m not wasting any time. The first time I submitted to a journal, …
Book Review: The Good It Promises, The Harm It Does: Critical Essays on Effective Altruism
The term “Effective Altruism” has been buzzy for a while now and has attracted well-known followers and promoters — and because of this, the movement is generally associated with doing …
A new environmental journal Springs to life
As a fan of the Rachel Carson Center I was excited to see the recent launch of the first edition of Springs, their new environmental journal: The Rachel Carson Center (RCC) is …
Deer America: Rewilding begins outside your front door
Deer are a common sight here in Ashland, Oregon. And a common source of conflict between residents. Some want to see the deer killed and others (like us) want to …
Book Review: Touching Creatures, Touching Spirit by Judy Grahn
The stories and essays of Touching Creatures, Touching Spirit: Living in a Sentient World form a beautiful tapestry of communications across species and consciousness. From grateful dragonflies to fatherless strawberries to companionable …
Book Review: Irreplaceable by Julian Hoffman
In Irreplaceable: The Fight to Save Our Wild Places, Julian Hoffman shows us endangered habitats and the creatures who inhabit them—as well as the humans who are fighting to save …
Book Review: Earth’s Wild Music: Celebrating and Defending the Songs of the Natural World
The natural world is in crisis. Rising sea levels. Burning forests. Species extinction. Climate change is leaving no one and no thing unaffected. At this precarious moment, what becomes the …
Book Review: World of Wonders; In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments
No one sees nature quite like a poet and Aimee Nezhukumatathil proves that in World of Wonders, her first book of prose. This collection of essays centers around Nezhukumatathil’s lifelong interactions with and observations of the natural world. Born to a Filipina mother and a father from South India, Nezhukumatathil grew up all over the United States due to the demands of her mother’s job as a psychiatrist, and was immersed in landscapes from New York to Arizona. She writes from both the poet’s perspective and as a person of color in a white-privileged world.
EcoLit Books Success Story: Marybeth Holleman
Continuing our series on EcoLit Success Stories, I’m pleased to introduce Marybeth Holleman. Based out of Alaska, she is author of The Heart of the Sound (which was a Siskiyou …