Our inaugural guest on “Luminaries” is Kathleen Dean Moore, a climate activist, philosopher, celebrated environmental writer, and one of the co-founders of the Spring Creek Project. She co-edited the collection “Moral Ground: Ethical Action for a Planet in Peril” and is the author of several books, including “Wild Comfort,” “Holdfast,” “Great Tide Rising,” “Earth’s Wild Music,” and “Take Heart: Encouragement for Earth’s Weary Lovers.”

During this episode, Kathy recalls a field course during which she and her students ponder the prose poem “Unchopping a Tree” by W.S. Merwin. Merwin (1927-2019) was an American poet who wrote or translated more than 50 books of poetry and prose, winning two Pulitzers and National Book Award, among many honors, in his decades-long career. In 2010, he was named the 17th Poet Laureate of the United States.

“Unchopping a Tree” was originally published in 1970. You can find it in Merwin’s prose collection “The Miner’s Pale Children” or as a standalone piece in Trinity Press’s gift edition.

“Luminaries” is produced by the Spring Creek Project at Oregon State University. This series invites people to share stories about writing and art that illuminates their environmental thinking or work.