Widely acclaimed for her powerful explorations of race, womanhood, spirituality, and mortality, poet Lucille Clifton has published thirteen volumes of poems since 1969 and has received numerous accolades for her work, including the 2000 National Book Award for Blessing the Boats. Her verse is featured in almost every anthology of contemporary poetry, and her readings draw large and enthusiastic audiences. Although Clifton's poetry is a pleasure to read, it is neither as simple nor as blithely celebratory as readers sometimes assume. The bursts of joy found in her polished, elegant lines are frequently set against a backdrop of regret and sorrow. Alternately consoling, stimulating, and emotionally devastating, Clifton's poems are unforgettable. In Wild Blessings, Hilary Holladay offers the first full-length study of Clifton's poetry, drawing on a broad knowledge of the American poetic tradition and African American poetry in particular. Holladay places Clifton's poems in multiple contexts -- personal, political, and literary -- as she explicates major themes and analyzes specific works: Clifton's poems about womanhood, a central concern throughout her career; her fertility poems, which are provocatively compared with Sylvia Plath's poems on the same subject; her relation to the Black Arts Movement and to other black female poets, such as Gwendolyn Brooks and Sonia Sanchez; her biblical poems; her elegies; and her poignant family history, Generations, an extended prose poem. In addition to a new preface written after Clifton's death in 2010, this updated edition includes an epilogue that discusses the poetry collections she published after 2004. Readers encountering Lucille Clifton's poems for the first time and those long familiar with her distinctive voice will benefit from Hilary Holladay's striking insights and her illuminating interview with the influential American poet.

2024 Nautilus Book Awards Silver Winner in "Religion / Spirituality of Western Thought" CategoryWinner of the Living Now Book Award, Church of the Wild reminds us that once upon a time, humans lived in an intimate relationship with nature. Whether disillusioned by the dominant church or unfulfilled by traditional expressions of faith, many of us long for a deeper spirituality. Victoria Loorz certainly did. Coping with an unraveling vocation, identity, and planet, Loorz turned to the wanderings of spiritual leaders and the sanctuary of the natural world, eventually cofounding the Wild Church Network and Seminary of the Wild. With an ecospiritual lens on biblical narratives and a fresh look at a community larger than our own species, Church of the Wild uncovers the wild roots of faith and helps us deepen our commitment to a suffering earth by falling in love with it--and calling it church. Through mystical encounters with wild deer, whispers from a scrubby oak tree, wordless conversation with a cougar, and more, Loorz helps us connect to a love that literally holds the world together--a love that calls us into communion with all creatures.

Make a spiritual journey through this beautiful collection of blessings, prayers and meditations about the creatures, wild and tame, that inhabit our world. These moving contributions about all types of animals?playful dogs and beloved cats, giant whales and powerful elephants, tiny insects and delicate birds?are drawn from many faith traditions, including Native American, Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu and Buddhist.A special section also provides animal blessing ceremonies you can use to memorialize the loss of a companion animal, offer prayers for an animal suffering illness or injury or simply recognize the spiritual connection we create when we fully appreciate another member of God?s creation.

The complete guide to the entire Sierra NevadaThe Sierra Nevada is one of the most scenic, biologically diverse, and historically rich mountain ranges in North America. Touring the Sierra Nevada covers the entire range and its adjacent regions, exploring the Sierra Nevada from such world-famous sites as Lake Tahoe and Yosemite to picturesque mining towns, scenic alpine lakes, lush vineyards, and colorful hidden byways. Koehler offers suggestions for long tours and exciting daytrips, as well as detailed information about the history, geology, flora and fauna, economy, and unique features of places along the way. The book is illustrated with photographs and maps of the regions she describes. Koehler includes excursions for automobile travelers as well as backcountry adventures for hikers. She provides information about attractions in the Sierra’s two “jumping-off” cities, Sacramento and Reno, as well as in some of the major towns within the range. There is practical advice about contacting parks, museums, historical sites, visitors’ bureaus, U.S. Forest Service offices, and other agencies; finding lodging, campgrounds, and restaurants along the way; preparing for weather and altitude changes; and identifying further sources of information about the region in published guides and other books, as well as on websites. Koehler offers her readers the literary companionship of an experienced, charming, and vivacious guide through one of America’s most fascinating regions.

Writing and composing with honesty and humanism, Lucille Clifton is known for her themes of the body, family, community, politics, womanhood, and the spirit. While much of her work deals with the African American experience, she does not limit herself to that perspective, addressing topics common to all women, to all people. This timely and important biography will give readers a glimpse into the life and work of this important and revered African American poet, writer, and educator, exploring themes that run throughout her writing, as well as the personal obstacles she faced and overcame. Lucille Clifton was born in Depew, New York, in 1936. Today, she is one of the most important and revered African American poets, writers, and educators in the nation. In addition to several works of poetry, she has written more than 15 children's books. Her work has been nominated for three Pulitzer Prizes and two National Book Awards, one of which she won for Blessing the Boats: New and Selected Poems 1988-2000 in 2000. In 1999, she was appointed and remains a Chancellor of the American Academy of Poets, one of the most prestigious honors in American letters. Among her best known works is the poem miss rosie, anthologized many times over and a standard part of high school curriculums. She has won an Emmy award, a Lannan Literary Award, two fellowships from the National Endowmant for the the Arts, and many other prestigious awards. Writing and composing with honesty and humanism, Clifton is known for her themes of the body, family, community, politics, womanhood, and the spirit. While much of her work deals with the African American experience, she does not limit herself to that perspective, addressing topics common to all women, to all people. This biography covers Clifton's life and work, addressing themes that run throughout her writing as well as the personal obstacles she faced and overcame, including her own faultering health. This timely and important biography will give readers a glimpse into the life of one of America's most important, influential, and enduring writers.

A collection of blessings for the people, celebrations, sadnesses, artefacts, special occasions and journeys of our lives.

As individuals and as a nation we believe that if we recycle and buy fuel-efficient cars we have done our part to protect the environment. Yet an important element is missing. If we don't conserve the still-undeveloped places of the earth, human life will be disconnected from its fellow animals and torn from its roots. Humans will still exist, but as Ted Kerasote explains in his insightful introduction, "we'll be like potted trees in the foyers of great skyscrapers -- alone and not part of a wider forest."Our efforts to recycle and conserve energy must be augmented with advocacy for the protection of wild spaces, and Return of the Wild is an important underpinning for that endeavor: a guide through the issues of the day, a history, a forum for debate, a source of information. Sponsored by the Pew Wilderness Center, the book brings together leading thinkers and writers to examine why nature in its most untrammeled state is vitally important to all of us; what currently threatens wild country; and what can be done not merely to conserve more of it, but also to return it to our lives and consciousness.Contributors including Vine Deloria, Jr., Chris Madson, Mike Matz, Richard Nelson, Thomas M. Power, Michael Soule, Jack Turner, and Florence Williams consider a wide range of topics relating to wildlands, and explore the varied economic, spiritual, and ecological justifications for preserving wilderness areas. The book also features a completely new four-color mapping of the remaining roadless areas on federal lands, as well as the National Wilderness Preservation System, now measuring 106 million acres, in which much of this roadless land could one day be included.This first annual edition is both an inspiring and thoughtful introduction to wilderness subjects for the general public and an invaluable reference for legislators, the media, and conservation organizations. It is an essential new contribution to wilderness preservation efforts.