Regular readers know that we love Oregon State University’s Spring Creek Project – and their coming presentation the evening of Thursday, May 1 exemplifies why.
But first review with us their stated mission, which as they put it is to bring together the practical wisdom of environmental science, the clarity of philosophy, and the transformational power of the written word and the arts to envision and inspire just and joyous relations with the planet and with one another.
We just love the gooey lovely wholesomeness of all that. Here’s what they’re saying about their Thursday presentation.
Earth Words: The Pacific Northwest’s Premier Environmental Writing Showcase
In these times of cultural upheaval, when the natural world is facing unprecedented pressures and losses, stories about our relationship to the Earth and all its creatures must be at the heart of resistance and renewal. Along with incisive truth-telling, we need joyful celebrations to nurture community, sustain activism, and deepen our understanding of kinship and interconnectedness with all beings.
Earth Words will be an evening to celebrate and uplift the many kinds of environmental writing we need in this moment in history: stories that help us imagine new futures, writing that deepens our love for the world, and voices that resoundingly speak up for justice for people and our more-than-human kin. The evening will feature the work of five celebrated writers who will fill the concert hall with good words for this world:
Lynda Mapes, Seattle Times reporter and author, most recently of The Trees Are Speaking: Dispatches from the Salmon Forests
CMarie Fuhrman, poet, editor, and author of Salmon Weather: Writing from the Land of No Return
Sierra Crane Murdoch, journalist, essayist, and author of Yellow Bird: Oil, Murder, and a Woman’s Search for Justice in Indian Country, a Pulitzer Prize finalist and winner of the Oregon Book Award
Lyanda Lynn Haupt, naturalist, ecophilosopher, and author, most recently of Rooted: Life at the Crossroads of Science, Nature, and Spirit
Erica Berry, essayist and author of Wolfish: Wolf, Self, and the Stories We Tell About Fear, winner of the Oregon Book Award and shortlisted for the Pacific Northwest Book Award
Award-winning writer and poet Joe Wilkins will emcee this inaugural year of Earth Words, which will become an annual environmental writing showcase at PRAx.
Tickets are free. Program starts 7 pm, Thursday, May 1 at the PRAx Center’s Derrick Hall. Click here to reserve your seat.
Happy Hour. Doors open at 6 pm for Lightbox Happy Hour in Toomey Lobby, which will include:
- Live music featuring keyboardist and producer Galen Clark
- A book sale by local independent bookstore Grass Roots Books, with all titles from the featured writers available
- Wine, beer and snacks for sale
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