Description

Author Rebecca Lawton has been deeply connected to water her whole life, as a river guide, fluvial geologist, and writer. Join her at Back of Beyond Books for a reading and signing of her latest book of essays, The Oasis This Time: Living and Dying with Water in the West.

Water, the most critical fluid on the planet, is seen as savior, benefactor, and Holy Grail in many arid North American communities. Fluvial geologist and former Colorado River guide Rebecca Lawton follows species both human and wild to their watery roots—in warming deserts, near rising Pacific tides, on endangered, tapped-out rivers, and in growing urban ecosystems. The Oasis This Time: Living and Dying with Water in the West is both deep read and call to evolve toward a sustainable and even spiritual connection to water.

Rebecca Lawton grew up exploring rivers and deserts throughout the American West. Her work on water and climate has been honored with a Fulbright Visiting Research Chair, the Ellen Meloy Award for Desert Writers, the Waterston Desert Writing Prize, a WILLA Award, Pushcart Prize nominations, and residencies at Hedgebrook, PLAYA, and the Island Institute. She lives in the Oregon Outback, where she directs PLAYA’s residency program for writers, artists, and scientists.

Free and open to the public. This event is presented by Back of Beyond Books and Torrey House Press, and is supported in part by Utah Humanities and Utah Division of Arts & Museums, with funding from the State of Utah and National Endowment for the Arts.