Interviews

Oldgrowth Understory
Connecting, Making Choices

Connecting, Making Choices

Date: Summer 2002

Interviewee: Wilma Dykeman

This interview appeared in Summer 2002 (vol. 29, no. 4) of Appalachian Journal and is reprinted here by permission of the Journal. Ms. Dykeman died at her home in Asheville, North Carolina on December 22, 2006.

Note: To...

Ripening: A Conversation with Janet Lembke

Ripening: A Conversation with Janet Lembke

Date: Spring and Summer 2002

Interviewee: Janet Lembke

Janet Lembke, often referred to as an “acclaimed Southern naturalist”, is the author of Dangerous Birds, River Time, Despicable Species, Skinny-Dipping, and The Quality of Living. Her essays and poetry have appeared in publications such as Audubon, Sierra, the...

It Takes a Universe. . . .

It Takes a Universe. . . .

Date: Spring 2005

Interviewee: Thomas Berry

In the late spring of 2005, southern nature writers John Lane and Thomas Rain Crowe traveled together to the home of ecologian Thomas Berry, at Wells Spring Assisted Living Center in Greensboro, North Carolina. At 91 years of age, Father...

Bewildered: An Invitation to the Reading of James Kilgo

Bewildered: An Invitation to the Reading of James Kilgo

Date: September 5, 2007

Interviewee: Matteo Meschiari on James Kilgo

Matteo Meschiari was born in Modena, Italy in 1968. Poet and essayist, he conducts research in geography, philosophy, and anthropology. A graduate of the University of Bologna, with advanced degrees from the Université de Bourgogne and the Université Charles De...

Old Man with World

Old Man with World

Date: Dec. 4, 2006

Interviewee: Eugene P. Odum

Jesslyn Shields recounts meeting Dr. Eugene P. Odum, known as the "Father of Modern Ecology." Ms. Shields now lives in Athens, Georgia, where she serves as watershed support coordinator for the Georgia River Network.

The Father of Modern Ecology...

Dr. John Terres: Bird Expert & Naturalist Still Making the H

Dr. John Terres: Bird Expert & Naturalist Still Making the H

Date: August 2005

Interviewee: John K. Terres

(Note: This interview with John Terres was made shortly before his death in 2006. The photo shows Mark Kutner and Dr. Terres.)

John Terres is known throughout our community as a highly intelligent gentleman with an unrivaled caring
disposition....

To Save Something Beautiful: A Conversation with Erik Reece

To Save Something Beautiful: A Conversation with Erik Reece

Date: Winter 2007

Interviewee: Erik Reece

“Where once there were jagged, forested ridgelines,” writes Erik Reece for Harper’s magazine, “now there is only a series of plateaus, staggered grey shelves where grass struggles to grow in crushed rock and shale.”

Kentucky-born poet and essayist Erik...

A Conversation with Lynn Coulter

A Conversation with Lynn Coulter

Date: November 9, 2006

Interviewee: Lynn Coulter

Lynn Coulter is a native Southerner and the author of Gardening with Heirloom Seeds: Tried-and-True Flowers, Fruits, & Vegetables for a New Generation (University of North Carolina Press 2006).

Q: What are heirloom seeds?

Lynn Coulter:...

Georgia

Georgia's Beaches: Who Owns Them? Who Cares?

Date: May 2, 2007

Interviewee: David Dallmeyer

First published in The Flagpole, Athens, Georgia, May 2, 2007.

The fate of Georgia’s coast has been in the political spotlight recently like never before. The final hours of this year’s legislative session at the Georgia General Assembly (now...

To Protect and Uphold Life

To Protect and Uphold Life

Date: January 2007

Interviewee: Janisse Ray

Janisse Ray grew up on the grounds of a Georgia junkyard, amid the longleaf pine and wiregrass. However, she does not focus on wreckage and waste, but on doing what she can to reverse the destruction of the natural...

The Essential Strangeness of the World

The Essential Strangeness of the World

Date: February 15, 2007

Interviewee: Franklin Burroughs

Throughout his youth, Franklin Burroughs explored the woodlands and swamps of Conway, South Carolina. In his books “The River Home,” “Billy Watson’s Croker Sack,” and most recently, “Confluence: Merrymeeting Bay,” he has continued to explore landscapes, in his words,...

Home Again: A Conversation with Thomas Rain Crowe

Home Again: A Conversation with Thomas Rain Crowe

Date: February 11. 2008

Interviewee: Thomas Rain Crowe

In many ways, Thomas Rain Crowe has had two careers. One he has spent traveling the world, writing and translating poetry. Twenty-five years ago, though, he returned to North Carolina where, with the help of the land outside his door,...

To the Edge of a Swamp: a Conversation with Bill Belleville

To the Edge of a Swamp: a Conversation with Bill Belleville

Date: December 2006

Interviewee: Bill Belleville

Floridian Bill Belleville’s essays, books, and films might lead his audiences to the swamp, the sea, or the jungle. He has toured the world, recording his travels and revealing remote places. Yet, his writing does not only highlight...

The Inherent Spirit in the Land: A Conversation with Jeff Ripple

The Inherent Spirit in the Land: A Conversation with Jeff Ripple

Date: August 2007

Interviewee: Jeff Ripple

Florida landscape photographer and naturalist, Jeff Ripple and I both grew up in Florida—he in the wild southwest and me in the manicured, overly landscaped southeast. As an expatriate Floridian, I am always eager to discuss the beauty and...

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