On Saturday Aug. 24, Heather Durham returns to Peterborough to sign and discuss “Going Feral: Field Notes On Wonder and Wanderlust” at 11 a.m. Raised in the Monadnock Region and an Antioch New England graduate, Durham has produced a collection of deeply personal and intellectually curious essays that explore wild America weaving the unique perspectives of a trained ecologist, inquisitive philosopher, and restless nomad.
She wanders from New England vernal pools to Pacific Northwest salmon runs, Rocky Mountain pine forests to Desert Southwest sage flats in search of adventure, solace, authenticity, and belonging in the more-than-human world. Part scientifically-informed nature writing, part soul-searching memoir, “Going Feral” is the story of a human animal learning to belong to the earth.
At 2 p.m., Ben Railton will sign and discuss “We the People: The 500 Year Battle Over Who Is American”. The Constitution begins with those deceptively simple words, but how do Americans define that “We”? In “We the People”, Railton argues that throughout our history two competing yet interconnected concepts have battled to define our national identity and community: exclusionary and inclusive visions of who gets to be an American. From the earliest moments of European contact with indigenous peoples, through the Revolutionary period’s debates on African American slavery, 19th century conflicts over Indian Removal, Mexican landowners, and Chinese immigrants, 20th century controversies around Filipino Americans and Japanese internment, and 21st century fears of Muslim Americans, time and again this defining battle has shaped our society and culture.
Carefully exploring and critically examining those histories, and the key stories and figures they feature, is vital to understanding America – and to making sense of the Trump era, when the battle over who is an American can be found in every significant debate and moment.