Author Description

"Wendell Berry told me and Wes Jackson that Paul was one of our last great regional writers. Wes shared his own high praise, telling me he learned more about the prairie from Paul's writing than from anyone else. I have thought since that all great writers are, in a sense, regional because they write from somewhere, and that somewhere is irreplaceable - whether it is the writer's subject matter or not. The selections I chose from Paul's five major books, as well as an essay, "The Meaning of Natural History," and several journal entries, demonstrate a deep consciousness of region and place. From his first published book, Journal of A Prairie Year, Paul interweaves the natural and human, showing us how this relationship is always mediated by a place. There is so much more to say about Paul Gruchow's writing, but I would rather you read what he has to say in these selections in his own eloquent voice. His death, at age 54, is a great loss, I miss him, and this endangered planet that he loved needs his work more than ever." Louis Martinelli, editor