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The Dire Elegies

59 Poets on Endangered Species of North America

(Ordering Information Below)

Illustartion by David M. Carroll

20 percent of proceeds from sales will go to the

NRDC's BioGems campaign (http://www.savebiogems.org/).

HARVARD BIOLOGIST E.O. WILSON, GLOBAL WARMING GURU BILL McKIBBEN AND 59 POETS - CREATE THE FORMULA FOR “…A MUST-READ FOR OUR TIMES”

Karla Linn Merrifield, chief editor, and co-editor Roger M. Weir have assembled a first anthology of its type in the world to inspire readers to take action on behalf of the continent's endangered plants and animals.

"Poets here have left their ivory towers to encourage their neighbors to walk in the woods, observe the world, learn - and act,” said Merrifield, who teaches writing in the New York state university system.

Dr. Edward O. Wilson, world-renowned Harvard entomologist and two-time Pulitzer-Prize winning author, points out in the epigraph to this unique collection of poetry, “…the better an ecosystem is known, the less likely it will be destroyed.”

This is the premise of “THE DIRE ELEGIES: 59 Poets on Endangered Species of North America” and why author Bill McKibben (“The End of Nature,” “Enough,” and “Wandering Home”) says in the book's foreword, “These magnificent poems work as a chant to summon more” of the love to save the endangered from extinction. It's also why writer Susan Cerulean (“Tracking Desire: A Journey After Swallow-tailed Kites”) has called the book an “important manifesto: a must-read for our times.”

Included in the anthology are noted poets William Heyen, Maxine Kumin, W. S. Merwin, Enid Shomer, James E. Smelcer, Gary Snyder, Brian Swann and Lewis Turco among others. The 59 poets are from all across the U.S. and Canada.

The book's cover illustration depicting painted turtles in hibernation was donated by New Hampshire artist and naturalist David M. Carroll, recipient of The Burroughs Award for his Swampwalker's Journal: A Wetland's Year.

Science Meets Poetry

A helpful feature of the anthology is the species notes that accompany the poems each time a new species is introduced.

For example, when readers encounter Minnesota poet Shirley S. Stevens's poem “On Spotting a Pygmy Owl,” they also learn: “The endangered cactus ferruginous pygmy owl, Glaucidium brasilianum cactorum, of the U.S. Southwest and Mexico, numbered only 12 birds when it was listed in the U.S. in 1997. A USF&WS recovery team began its work to rescue the species in 1998, but its fate remains precarious.”

“This anthology is a major advance along a most important frontier: forging compassion for endangered species, and using our human self-awareness to reflect on whether we really wish to travel the road we're on.,” said Carl Safina, author of Song for the Blue Ocean and Voyage of the Turtle, and founder and president of the Blue Ocean Institute.

Foreword: Regarding the Frog and Our Real Selves, Bill McKibben

Preface: A Righteous Case for the 1,277, Karla Linn Merrifield, Roger M. Weir

Epigraph, E. O. Wilson

In the Beginning

Roll Call, North American, Chris Norment

A Bestiary of Continuous Extinctions, Steven Huff

Grizzly, Michele F. Cooper

You Are in Bear Country, Maxine Kumin

In Concert, Jen Eddy

Loss, Dennis Fritzinger

Killed by the Bear, John Hutchinson

Treat Each Bear, Gary Lawless

The Hunter, John E. Smelcer

Night Cat, Bruce Sweet

Piute Creek, Gary Snyder

Water Flowing Over Rocks, Erica Caldwell

Stalking the Florida Panther, Enid Shomer

Wolf-God, James A. Parsley

On Feet of Clouds/Yanlaey Kae, John E. Smelcer

Dominance, Susan Edwards Richmond

Boy & Zoo, Jon Palzer

Out of Balance, John E. Smelcer

Call of the Wild, John E. Smelcer

Tatanka, Linda Opyr

American Pome, Chris Green

Visions of a Fading Empire, Casey Carroll

A Fox, Chris Green

Black- Footed Ferret, Dennis Fritzinger

Adopt-a-Prairie Chicken, Erica Caldwell

Clem's Peaches, Jessica Langen-Peck

Grass River Blues, Jay Franzel

Two Salamanders, Kathleen Van Schaick

At the Top of the Food Chain, Mary Laufer

In the Eyes of a Toad, Marian Lovene Griffey

Charting the Embryo, Katherine L. Gordon

The Dilemma, David Dodd

No Shrouds, Donna Marbach

In Search of the Madla's Cave Webweaver, Patricia Roth Schwartz

Orion Espies a Tree's Demise, Karla Linn Merrifield

Hart's-Tongue Fern, Gerald Schwartz

Lichen, Rock Gnome, Wanda Schubmehl

Advice from Ancestors, Beau Cutts

The Last Valley, Katherine L. Gordon

Whale Ivory, Eileen Malone

Last Whale, Gary Lawless

Leviathan, Lewis Turco

Harpoon, William Heyen

Ascension, Margo Stever

For a Coming Extinction, W. S. Merwin

The Whale's Tale, Joe St. Martin

The Manatee, Campbell McGrath

Chancing Upon the Manatees, Elise Paschen

Sirenia Mermaidus, Patricia Ellyn Powell

Grace Despite, Alisa Gordaneer

Our Delightful Weasel in the Sea, Michele Bar-David

Turtle Moon, Brian Swann

I walk the darkening beach, Wilda Morris

So Excellent a Fishe…, Dennis Fritzinger

Chinook. Sockeye. On special this week only, Alisa Gordaneer

Shortnose, Anne W. Hammond

Alewives, Marianna Tupper

Of High Sierra Rivulets and Not Burning Books, Ann Beman

Isolation, Jason A. Seivers

For a northern flying squirrel seen on Nov. 23, 1982, Elizabeth Lawson

Saturday, Tucker's Cave, Alisa Gordaneer

Bats Deserve Better, Kathleen March

For Life, Lynn Pattison

Scavengers, Catie Jarvis

Condor, Susan Edwards Richmond

Craning, Richard Downing

Cranes to Come, Marilyn Peretti

On Spotting a Pygmy Owl, Shirley S. Stevens

The Long View, Todd Davis

Piping Plover, Shirley S. Stevens

Obsolete, Todd Davis

The Day There Were No Birds, Constance Vogel

Faded Blue, Lisa Scott Hilton

Lament for the Karner Blue Butterfly, Donna Marbach

Starvation, Jason A. Seivers

About the Editors

Karla Linn Merrifield holds a Master's of Arts in Creative Writing from SUNY College at Brockport, (Brockport, NY). She has had poetry published in national publications such as CALYX; The Kerf; Redactions, Texas Poetry Journal; Blueline: A Literary Magazine Dedicated to the Spirit of the Adirondacks; Earth's Daughters; Negative Capability; Paper Street; as well as in many anthologies, including Doorways: Families, Friends and Survivors of September 11th Reflect on Living with Loss (Sept. 2004) and Beyond Katrina (Nov. 2005). In fall 2004, FootHills Publishing published Midst, a collection of her nature poems. She teaches writing at SUNY Brockport each fall and travels widely in North America the remaining months of the year.

Merrifield's husband, Roger M. Weir, who holds a doctorate in educational psychology from the University of Rochester, is a wordsmith of long practice and pleasure. For 32 years he was on the professional staff at SUNY College at Brockport, serving as Division of Student Affairs' publications editor. As someone who openly confesses that his love for poetry "ended with Yeats," he brought a unique editorial perspective to the creation of this anthology. (He makes an exception for his wife's work.)

is a 120 page hand-sewn book with spine - $19.95

Contributors Order On-Line here:

To order through mail send total price plus $1.75 Shipping and Handling ($2.25 in Canada; $3.25 other countries)

for each address sent to. (NYS Residents please add $1.60 Sales Tax per book)

FootHills Publishing


	FootHills Publishing \| home About FootHills Publishing \| Wheeler Hill Readings 2009 \| New and Announcements \| FHP POETS LIST \| Supporting FHP \| Springfed Chapbook Series \| The Dire Elegies \| SWA \| Submissions Info \| SF 59 \| Contact FHP The Dire Elegies 59 Poets on Endangered Species of North America (Ordering Information Below) Illustartion by David M. Carroll 20 percent of proceeds from sales will go to the NRDC's BioGems campaign (http://www.savebiogems.org/). HARVARD BIOLOGIST E.O. WILSON, GLOBAL WARMING GURU BILL McKIBBEN AND 59 POETS - CREATE THE FORMULA FOR “…A MUST-READ FOR OUR TIMES” Karla Linn Merrifield, chief editor, and co-editor Roger M. Weir have assembled a first anthology of its type in the world to inspire readers to take action on behalf of the continent's endangered plants and animals. "Poets here have left their ivory towers to encourage their neighbors to walk in the woods, observe the world, learn - and act,” said Merrifield, who teaches writing in the New York state university system. Dr. Edward O. Wilson, world-renowned Harvard entomologist and two-time Pulitzer-Prize winning author, points out in the epigraph to this unique collection of poetry, “…the better an ecosystem is known, the less likely it will be destroyed.” This is the premise of “THE DIRE ELEGIES: 59 Poets on Endangered Species of North America” and why author Bill McKibben (“The End of Nature,” “Enough,” and “Wandering Home”) says in the book's foreword, “These magnificent poems work as a chant to summon more” of the love to save the endangered from extinction. It's also why writer Susan Cerulean (“Tracking Desire: A Journey After Swallow-tailed Kites”) has called the book an “important manifesto: a must-read for our times.” Included in the anthology are noted poets William Heyen, Maxine Kumin, W. S. Merwin, Enid Shomer, James E. Smelcer, Gary Snyder, Brian Swann and Lewis Turco among others. The 59 poets are from all across the U.S. and Canada. The book's cover illustration depicting painted turtles in hibernation was donated by New Hampshire artist and naturalist David M. Carroll, recipient of The Burroughs Award for his Swampwalker's Journal: A Wetland's Year. Science Meets Poetry A helpful feature of the anthology is the species notes that accompany the poems each time a new species is introduced. For example, when readers encounter Minnesota poet Shirley S. Stevens's poem “On Spotting a Pygmy Owl,” they also learn: “The endangered cactus ferruginous pygmy owl, Glaucidium brasilianum cactorum, of the U.S. Southwest and Mexico, numbered only 12 birds when it was listed in the U.S. in 1997. A USF&WS recovery team began its work to rescue the species in 1998, but its fate remains precarious.” “This anthology is a major advance along a most important frontier: forging compassion for endangered species, and using our human self-awareness to reflect on whether we really wish to travel the road we're on.,” said Carl Safina, author of Song for the Blue Ocean and Voyage of the Turtle, and founder and president of the Blue Ocean Institute. Contents Foreword: Regarding the Frog and Our Real Selves, Bill McKibben Preface: A Righteous Case for the 1,277, Karla Linn Merrifield, Roger M. Weir Epigraph, E. O. Wilson In the Beginning Roll Call, North American, Chris Norment A Bestiary of Continuous Extinctions, Steven Huff I. Grizzly, Michele F. Cooper You Are in Bear Country, Maxine Kumin In Concert, Jen Eddy Loss, Dennis Fritzinger Killed by the Bear, John Hutchinson Treat Each Bear, Gary Lawless The Hunter, John E. Smelcer Night Cat, Bruce Sweet Piute Creek, Gary Snyder Water Flowing Over Rocks, Erica Caldwell Stalking the Florida Panther, Enid Shomer Wolf-God, James A. Parsley On Feet of Clouds/Yanlaey Kae, John E. Smelcer Dominance, Susan Edwards Richmond Boy & Zoo, Jon Palzer Out of Balance, John E. Smelcer Call of the Wild, John E. Smelcer Tatanka, Linda Opyr American Pome, Chris Green Visions of a Fading Empire, Casey Carroll A Fox, Chris Green Black- Footed Ferret, Dennis Fritzinger Adopt-a-Prairie Chicken, Erica Caldwell Clem's Peaches, Jessica Langen-Peck Grass River Blues, Jay Franzel Two Salamanders, Kathleen Van Schaick At the Top of the Food Chain, Mary Laufer In the Eyes of a Toad, Marian Lovene Griffey Charting the Embryo, Katherine L. Gordon The Dilemma, David Dodd No Shrouds, Donna Marbach In Search of the Madla's Cave Webweaver, Patricia Roth Schwartz Orion Espies a Tree's Demise, Karla Linn Merrifield Hart's-Tongue Fern, Gerald Schwartz Lichen, Rock Gnome, Wanda Schubmehl Advice from Ancestors, Beau Cutts II. The Last Valley, Katherine L. Gordon Whale Ivory, Eileen Malone Last Whale, Gary Lawless Leviathan, Lewis Turco Harpoon, William Heyen Ascension, Margo Stever For a Coming Extinction, W. S. Merwin The Whale's Tale, Joe St. Martin The Manatee, Campbell McGrath Chancing Upon the Manatees, Elise Paschen Sirenia Mermaidus, Patricia Ellyn Powell Grace Despite, Alisa Gordaneer Our Delightful Weasel in the Sea, Michele Bar-David Turtle Moon, Brian Swann I walk the darkening beach, Wilda Morris So Excellent a Fishe…, Dennis Fritzinger Chinook. Sockeye. On special this week only, Alisa Gordaneer Shortnose, Anne W. Hammond Alewives, Marianna Tupper Of High Sierra Rivulets and Not Burning Books, Ann Beman Isolation, Jason A. Seivers III. For a northern flying squirrel seen on Nov. 23, 1982, Elizabeth Lawson Saturday, Tucker's Cave, Alisa Gordaneer Bats Deserve Better, Kathleen March For Life, Lynn Pattison Scavengers, Catie Jarvis Condor, Susan Edwards Richmond Craning, Richard Downing Cranes to Come, Marilyn Peretti On Spotting a Pygmy Owl, Shirley S. Stevens The Long View, Todd Davis Piping Plover, Shirley S. Stevens Obsolete, Todd Davis The Day There Were No Birds, Constance Vogel Faded Blue, Lisa Scott Hilton Lament for the Karner Blue Butterfly, Donna Marbach Starvation, Jason A. Seivers About the Editors Karla Linn Merrifield holds a Master's of Arts in Creative Writing from SUNY College at Brockport, (Brockport, NY). She has had poetry published in national publications such as CALYX; The Kerf; Redactions, Texas Poetry Journal; Blueline: A Literary Magazine Dedicated to the Spirit of the Adirondacks; Earth's Daughters; Negative Capability; Paper Street; as well as in many anthologies, including Doorways: Families, Friends and Survivors of September 11th Reflect on Living with Loss (Sept. 2004) and Beyond Katrina (Nov. 2005). In fall 2004, FootHills Publishing published Midst, a collection of her nature poems. She teaches writing at SUNY Brockport each fall and travels widely in North America the remaining months of the year. Merrifield's husband, Roger M. Weir, who holds a doctorate in educational psychology from the University of Rochester, is a wordsmith of long practice and pleasure. For 32 years he was on the professional staff at SUNY College at Brockport, serving as Division of Student Affairs' publications editor. As someone who openly confesses that his love for poetry "ended with Yeats," he brought a unique editorial perspective to the creation of this anthology. (He makes an exception for his wife's work.) ISBN: 0-941053-93-8 The Dire Elegies is a 120 page hand-sewn book with spine - $19.95 TO ORDER ON-LINE Contributors Order On-Line here: To order through mail send total price plus $1.75 Shipping and Handling ($2.25 in Canada; $3.25 other countries) for each address sent to. (NYS Residents please add $1.60 Sales Tax per book) Send orders to: FootHills Publishing PO Box 68 Kanona, NY 14856