Authors Eric Watson, Marybeth Holleman, Christine Byl and Seth Kantner talk about wilderness. Photo courtesy Craig Brandt.
Four Alaskan authors shared select excerpts and thoughts on wilderness in a packed Charles Sheldon Center on Sunday, July 6. The event, “Over the Hills: the Wildeness Act turns 50,” was one of many commemorations in the Denali area on this anniversary year of the Wilderness Act.
Each author touched on what the word “wilderness” meant to them. Marybeth Holleman spoke about protected land, the wildlife within and how it has shaped her life. Erica Watson recounted a childhood story about growing up in and around national parks as a “park service brat.” Christine Byl found her wilderness in work and in her physical body. For Seth Kantner, wilderness was a threat to his way of life, having grown up in a sod igloo north of the Arctic Circle.
Local journalist Kris Capps wrote an article about the event in the Newsminer.
Stay tuned for more 50th Anniversary of the Wilderness Act events in and around the Denali area this season. The Murie Science and Learning Center will host author and environmental activist Frank Keim on Friday, August 29 for a presentation titled, “Call of the Wild: The Wilderness Act Turns 50.”