Squirrels on Earth and Stars Above – We are thrilled to announce the recent publication of “the first published collection of the essays and lectures of the late bioanthropologist, environmentalist, botanist and self-described “maniacal naturalist” Peter Warshall
J.P. Harpignies, writer/editor, conference producer and environmental activist, writes:
“Peter was a genius in a number of fields and very, very far ahead of his time, but his legacy hasn’t been as widely recognized as it deserves to be, so we are thrilled that a new book about (him) has just been published, one that compiles a large selection of his essays and lectures as well as fascinating material from his archive to give a sense of the remarkable brilliance and dedication of this extraordinary human being”
“His range of interests was astoundingly vast, but he was no dilettante: He was in several instances among the world’s leading experts in the fields he explored. There will never be another Peter Warshall, and it was a great privilege for us to have been able to know him, work with him and learn from him”
A generalist ecologist with a special enthusiasm for natural history, ornithology, and hydrology, Warshall influenced a generation of countercultural field biologists, poets, and activists. He was the land-use editor for the Whole Earth Catalog and CoEvolution Quarterly, an ecosystem designer for Biosphere 2 in 1975 – and a lecturer, in the early days, on ecopoetics at the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics
Listen here for Peter’s 1993 lecture (on Birds and Birdsong) – and here, from 1995 (on Water)
The lecture that gives his book its title was delivered at the Kerouac School in 1990 and can be listened to – here
Assembled from his personal archive, and expertly edited by Parker Hatley, (in collaboration with Gregor Huber, Noha Mokhtar, Harris Bauer, and Diana Hadley). the book showcases Peter’s innovative thinking on science, poetics, ecological citizenship, and the relationship between our species and the living planet.
Harpignies presents a number of excerpts from it – here
More Peter Warshall:
Enchanted by the Sun – The Coevolution of Light, Life and Color on Earth
(from the 11th Hour Research Tapes) – on Humanity and our Relationship to Planet Earth
(from the 11th Hour Research Tapes) – Peter Warshall’s Time Capsule
Back in 1977, on the occasion of Allen’s death, poet Charles Alexander solicited notes from poets and friends that were subsequently published in the Tucson Weekly
This is what Peter wrote:
“On the trail out of Ramsey Canyon, poets chatting louder than the flock of juncos, Allen sees a coatimundi. His first. Standing behind the creature, he appears out of place, hands dug deep in his metropolis trench coat, buckle and belt dangling, flapping his arms in his pockets as he searches the nooks and crannies for a crumb to toss. It’s illegal to feed wildlife but my tongue is tied. Heros of sweetness, purifiers of desire, angels of loving kindness, healers of anxieties, voices of bardic hope need special, small waivers–especially here on Earth. Adiós amigo, happy trails.”