All posts tagged: Poetry

Cascadia Field Guide

Cascadia Field Guide: Art | Ecology | Poetry

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I’m thrilled to be one of a multitude of contributors to Cascadia Field Guide, an anthology of place-based art, science, and literature now available through Mountaineer Books! Where is Cascadia? Cascadia stretches from Southeast Alaska to Northern California and from the Pacific Ocean to the Continental Divide. Cascadia Field Guide: Art, Ecology, Poetry blends art and science to celebrate this diverse yet interconnected region through natural and cultural histories, poetry, and illustrations. Organized into 13 bioregions, the guide includes entries for everything from cryptobiotic soil and the western thatching ant to the giant Pacific octopus and Sitka spruce, as well as the likes of common raven, hoary marmot, Idaho giant salamander, snowberry, and 120 more! My contribution comes in the form of a short essay on the Pacific geoduck, a large saltwater clam that inhabits the waters I grew up near. But the collection contains facts and verse on many more that inhabit the bioregion, from horsehair lichen and moon jellies to chum salmon and red alders. Congratulations to editors Elizabeth Bradfield, CMarie Fuhrman, and …

Red, by Ronin Waters

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“Those who think Nature is a lady Misunderstand her. Those who think her graceful Have been deceived. Nature is not gentle She is not kind Or warm She is nobody’s lover….” Red, by Ronin Waters on standingoutinmyfield.wordpress.com. I don’t usually get poetry – years of habitually structured thinking has left my mind too rigid to fully appreciate the organic fluidity and raw evocative power associated with most poems. But once in a while, something clicks. This is one of those welcome exceptions. Like Larson’s There’s a Worm in My Dirt, Red reminds me that nature is not humane. The poem also succinctly explores humanity’s relationship with the Other; notions of exploitation and profound alienation are conveyed in a few simple powerful verses. I would love to hear your thoughts on the rest of the poem.