Idea of Nature Lecture Series Presents “Our Wild Neighbors” with Margaret Renkl

Tuesday, March 28, 2023, 6 p.m.
Zoom webinar

The Idea of Nature Public Webinar Series presents “Our Wild Neighbors” with Margaret Renkl, author, backyard naturalist, and contributing opinion writer to the New York Times, at 6 p.m. MST on Tuesday, March 28, 2023, via Zoom.

Renkl’s writing includes the books “Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss” and “Graceland, at Last: Notes on Hope and Heartache From the American South” as well as appearances in Guernica, Literary Hub, Oxford American, River Teeth and The Sewanee Review, among others. She graduated from Auburn University and the University of South Carolina, and lives in Nashville.

In “Late Migrations,” she traces (in brief essays) a tender and honest portrait of her complicated parents—her exuberant, creative mother; her steady, supportive father—and of the bittersweet moments that accompany a child’s transition to caregiver. Her brother Billy Renkl illustrated the book.

“Graceland, At Last,” brings together 60 of Renkl’s New York Times columns which offer a weekly dose of natural beauty, human decency and persistent hope in a sparkling new collection. In a patchwork quilt of personal and reported essays, Renkl highlights some other voices of the South, people who fight for a better future for the region: a group of teenagers who organized a youth march for Black Lives Matter; an urban shepherd whose sheep remove invasive vegetation; and church parishioners sheltering the homeless. Throughout, readers will find the generosity of spirit and deep attention to the world, human and nonhuman, that keep readers returning to her columns each Monday morning.

All Spring 2023 lectures will be presented for free to the public via Zoom webinar and include a question and answer session. Register for “Our Wild Neighbors” or email ideaofnature@boisestate.edu for the webinar link.

The Idea of Nature lecture series promotes interdisciplinary inquiry about the environment and fosters dialogue across the campus and community. Email ideaofnature@boisestate.edu to be added to The Idea of Nature Public Lecture Series email list.