This morning, Terry Tempest Williams spoke at a bi-Annual meeting of Conservation Alliance members. Without a doubt the most powerful and engaging speaker I've ever heard, TTW rapt the audience instantly and gracefully as she fused poetry and fiction with personal stories of sadness and triumph.
Her powerful and careful words made me want to write more, read more, use words more. I was shaking when I walked up to her after the talk. I asked her to sign my 11-year old copy of Refuge - first given to me at 18, a freshman in college and unaware that a book could take such hold of me - on one of my favorite pages.
It was a breathtaking morning. It got me thinking of my favorite work by Edward Abbey, "The Journey Home." She mentioned, this morning, "Natural Resources" by Adrienne Rich, which I'd also like to check out. I also want to read "Words That Work" and one other, though I can't think of it now.
It was a good day, made so largely, I'm sure, by the long run that started the morning. In the dark, up City Creek Canyon, with Megan, talking about the future, our jobs, the environment and politics.
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