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Opportunity for intensity of teaching and participation in Tanner Symposium a great draw, says visiting professor
"I had intended an academic career when I got my doctorate but other things happened, and in 1982 I made the commitment to become a full-time writer," says Utah State University visiting professor Robert Michael Pyle, author of Chasing Monarchs, Where Bigfoot Walks, The Thunder Tree, Walking the High Ridge and other books addressing human interaction with the natural world. Pyle will read from his recent works at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the Eccles Conference Center Auditorium on the USU campus, followed by a book signing and light refreshments. The event, made possible by a grant from the Caine Foundation, is free and open to the public. Pyle, who received his doctorate from the Yale University school of Forestry and Environmental Studies, has worked as an assistant curator at Yale's Peabody Museum, a butterfly conservation consultant for Papua New Guinea, and Northwest Land Steward for The Nature Conservancy, and has taught many writing workshops around the country. The position of visiting professor, however, "was the first opportunity I've had to work with talented classes of students for months, rather than hours or days," said Pyle. "That was a great draw, the opportunity for intensity." "USU is well-known for its connection to Western literature and environmental literature," observes Pyle. "I've heard it called the Lyon Legacy," he says, referring to retired USU professor Tom Lyon, former editor of the journal Western American Literature, and one of the field's leading scholars. "Tom Lyon really established this place -- USU and the English department -- as a strong place for people who are looking at the language and the land." Noting that environmental issues in the west are frequently polarizing, Pyle laments the "wildly antagonistic tone on both sides." He believes that "if we paid more attention to how we describe and characterize the land in all its fullness and complexity, we could find a way to actually converse, to have a public conversation rather than a public shouting match." "We can at least have civility in the discussion," says Pyle. "We have a common stake in this. This is really a central concern in my career." With Pyle's commitment to issues of conservation, he will also be a featured participant in this year's O.C. Tanner Symposium, whose theme, "The Search for a Common Language: Environmental Writing and Education," will bring together leading writers, scholars, and scientists dedicated to increasing public understanding of the environment. The symposium will take place April 18-20 on the USU campus. For more information on the symposium, please call 435-797-3363, or visit the web at www.hass.usu.edu/tanner. It is free and the public is invited.
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