A CHAT ABOUT EVIL SPIRITS by Lawrence Millman
Excerpt from The Last Speaker of Bear: My Encounters in the North, collection of vignettes of a life spent traveling in the north from Alaska and Canada to Siberia, Greenland, Iceland, and Norway. Millman spent four decades since on some thirty-five expeditions in search of undeveloped landscapes, wildlife, and traditional cultures.
Overlook by Suzanne Stryk
I cruised east on Route 64, stopping at the Rockfish Gap Overlook, where a dozen cars pointed toward the panorama. Walking over to a silver Dodge Avenger, I asked the suntanned driver if I could collect bugs stuck to the grill of his car. “Huh? You want to do what?” he winced. “Collect dead insects.”…
The Three O’Clock Cat by Gretchen Legler
When we first moved to rural Maine, like any newcomers, Ruth and I wanted to know things: where to buy groceries, how to get our internet hooked up, the best restaurants, where to shop for clothes and hardware, the hours for the local transfer station (the new name for the dump), recommendations for dentists and…
WEST SIDE RISING
West Side Rising: How San Antonio’s 1921 Flood Devastated a City and Sparked a Latino Environmental Justice Movement is the first book focused on San Antonio’s enduring relationship to floods, which have had particularly severe consequences for its communities of color. Examining environmental, social, and political histories, author Char Miller shows how disasters can expose…
Straddling the Divide
By Matt Hart The biggest bighorn I ever saw was an old ram patrolling the side of State Highway 38 between Red River and Questa, New Mexico. My friend, who was driving, knew the windy canyon road and said we might see sheep near the site of Chevron’s abandoned molybdenum mine. A highway department sign…
Art in the Time of Covid
Creating art during the pandemic has proven challenging for many. While some visual artists are burning out on screens, others, as a recent Wired article noted, have found that digital projects pose some unique advantages. Among them is Elyse Andrews ’20, who has found ways to express her art and explore themes more deeply since…
Begin Again
by Sandra Alcosser Because of open woodlandWith quivering sun patches A bird’s eye might observe a wormChiseling under earth’s Skin—because of granite bouldersFull of egg cases holding Spiderlings—because of purple berriesCome sweet in July—chokecherry Shadblow NankingHips and haws ripening— Branch nesters build summer nurseriesOn the face of our cabin—the same family Every year or their…
Two Nations Together Again at Boquillas
by Joe Holley Boquillas Crossing—On a cold, gray afternoon in Big Bend National Park, the rugged peaks and buttes wreathed by graceful low-hanging clouds, thirty or so American tourists are slouched against walls or sitting cross-legged on the hard floor of a small building manned by the National Park Service. We’ve all spent a portion…
Rocío Guenther: Mujer Renacentista
by Elena Negron San Antonio is famous for its unique mix of Texan and Mexican culture, and this is encapsulated no better than in the experiences of Rocío Guenther, a Trinity University alum who holds dual citizenship in the United States and Mexico. I recently had the pleasure of meeting virtually with Guenther, who is…
Each One a Bright Light by Lee Herrick
I was born outside of you, in Korea, in 1970, a year of upheaval and revolution. I was adopted and arrived in America in October 1971, at ten months of age, on your west coast, the San Francisco International Airport to be exact, where I was adopted by a White American couple. In the year…
Revolutionary Women: Nahui Olin
Nahui Olin (b. Mexico City, Mexico, 1893; d. Mexico City, 1978), an artist and writer, used hertalent in the 1920s to express her intellect and her sexuality and to break down genderbarriers at a time when Mexican women were severely constrained by law and social custom. Apainter and photographer who organized her own shows, Olin…
La Finca Caribe
We learn that most people are reluctant to break down these barriers on their own, especially on their first night, and sometimes for days, or all of their stay; but at the same time, they are really grateful to be gently ushered into it by our efforts. People want to connect. This knowledge comes in…
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Terra Firma is a stage for exploring the relationships between humans and the physical environments they engage. From publishing to a vibrant education and event programs, we work to contribute to meaningful dialogue, advocacy, and conservation focused on; nature, landscape, and wilderness; environmental sustainability and climate change; animals and wildlife; architecture and the built environment; cultural heritage and the importance of place.
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