Darkwater: Voices from Within the Veil

by W.E.B. DuBois Darkwater: Voices from Within the Veil is an autobiography by W.E.B. DuBois which weaves togethers essays, personal anecdotes, and spiritual reflection to consider the question of labor and race in the United States. In the particular passage, DuBois reflects on the beauty of Bar Harbor, ME (a national park that was often … More Darkwater: Voices from Within the Veil

Silent Spring

By Rachel Carson Silent Spring is a a non-fiction book of environmental science written by Rachel Carson. It combined rigorous research with a powerful narrative writing style to reveal the impacts of un-checked pesticides on humans and the environment. Her book hit a nerve with the American public, inspired an environmental movement, and may have … More Silent Spring

Going It Alone

By Rahawa Haile In this essay from Outside Magazine, Rahawa Haile reflects on the experience of hiking the Appalachian trail as a queer black woman. Her essay covers questions of race and politics, as well as evocatively describing her own rich relationship to the natural world. It’s the spring of 2016, and I’m ten miles … More Going It Alone

Living Like Weasels

By Annie Dillard An American author, Dillard writes in the tradition of Thoreau and other early naturalists. Her best known narrative non-fiction work, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, won the Pullitzer Prize. In this piece she performs a true “essay” — that is, a meandering exploration that pulls together disparate ideas, and invites new questions. A … More Living Like Weasels

Wild Geese

By Mary Oliver Her contemplative poetry often focused on the quiet, everyday occurrences of the natural world, from bears to streams to hummingbirds. In this poem, nature takes on an almost chapel-like quality as a place to reflect, feel love, and connect with something larger than ones-self. You do not have to be good.You do … More Wild Geese

See Now and Then

Jamaica Kincaid, a novel An Antiguan-American novelist, essayist, and gardener. Jamaica Kincaid’s writing often asks questions about identity, home, colonialism, racism, class, and coming-of-age. In See Now and Then Kincaid write about a mixed-race couple in New England, and all the many layers of memory, musings, and knowings that happen between people. The writing itself … More See Now and Then