Imagining a different Thanksgiving tradition
The annual presidential pardoning of the Thanksgiving turkey has to be one of the most curious traditions in this country. It officially dates back to George H.W. Bush, though John …
Animals
Lost Animals: Voices of Extinction
What would the last living passenger pigeon (seen in silhouette above) have to say if he or she were alive today? Or the Tasmanian tiger? Or the Carolina parakeet? In …
Confucius’s pet dog: The Chinese Animal Studies Network
If you’re interested in learning more about animal histories in China check out the Chinese Animal Studies Network. They have an excellent newsletter. I recently read this Talking Animals Q&A …
Book Review: The Tortoise’s Tale by Kendra Coulter
Years ago, when I was in the Galápagos Islands, a fellow traveler asked how long tortoises live. Our guide’s answer was: “We don’t know.” No human has yet lived long …
Book Review: North of the Sunlit River by Jessica Bryant Klagmann
In her novel North of the Sunlit River, Jessica Bryant Klagmann’s characters face grief and loss amid beautiful depictions of the natural world, from Alaska to New Mexico. Eila Jacobsen is …
Book Review: Defending Animals by Kendra Coulter
During the writing of Defending Animals: Finding Hope on the Front Lines of Animal Protection, Kendra Coulter’s dog, Sunny, spent many hours wrapped around her feet. Sunny, who had been abused …
Writing opportunity: Bestiary / Dark Mountain
I’m excited to share this new writing opportunity from Dark Mountain: Submissions are now open for Dark Mountain’s 29th issue, a book devoted to animals. We are seeking non-fiction, fiction, …
Habitat, by Case Q. Kerns
Black Lawrence Press, August 2025 In Habitat, a delectably creepy novel-in-stories, set slightly in the future, Case Q. Kerns imagines how late-stage capitalism plays itself out in the worst possible …
Book Review Flashback: How Animals Grieve by Barbara J. King
It’s hard to believe that it’s been nearly 12 years since I reviewed How Animals Grieve by Barbara King. It’s a powerful book and I still recommend it today. Animals …
New and forthcoming environmental books (May 2025)
Imagine a lion who decides one day that he will no longer survive off eating animals. This is the premise of Erasmus Joseph Lion by Marvin Rollick, one of a …
Book Review: My Dog Always Eats First by Leslie Irvine
Even before beginning the research for her book My Dog Always Eats First: Homeless People & Their Animals, Leslie Irvine had been thinking about what it means for a human to …