Mentored by the Land with Donald S. Clark

Mentored by the Land with Donald S. Clark

In this episode of The Heart Path Podcast, we learn about Professor and Photographer, Donald S. Clark, and his adventure in photographing places across the US that have inspired historic and contemporary nature writers John Muir, Rachel Carson, Phillip Connors, Terry Tempest Williams, Barry Lopez, Pam Houston and more.  After fifteen years of planning and several years of photography, camping, and collaboration, Clark created the book, "Nature's Writers: Mentored by the Land [https://www.rizzoliusa.com/book/9780847831999/]," which celebrates forty-four nature writers and the landscapes they've preserved through their words and their books.   Bio: Donald S. Clark is a Professor of Art/Photography at Minnesota State University Moorhead. He has been teaching photography for 29 years and making images for more than 39 years. The majority of his work focuses on environmental and landscape issues. He is also interested in the relationships of people in their environment and how these relationships affect culture. He has exhibited his work throughout the United States and internationally. He currently lives in Lake Park, Minnesota.  Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2532264/support]

Writing the Land with Dr. Lis McLoughlin

When a pipeline project threatened residents of rural Massachusetts, Dr. Lis McLoughlin partnered with a local land trust and fought to protect her community. She not only succeeded in this endeavor, she established NatureCulture® and the Writing the Land® Project in collaboration with poets in an effort to financially support land trusts and protect lands across the US.  Bio: Dr. Lis McLoughlin is the founder and director of NatureCulture®, a publishing company through which she directs the Writing the Land® Project which pairs poets with conserved lands, and creates anthologies sold for land conservation. Lis has degrees in Civil Engineering, Education, and Science and Technology Studies. She lives off-grid in Northfield, Massachusetts and part-time in Montréal, Québec.  Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2532264/support]

Story Mapping with Poet, Essayist, and Instructor Byron Aspaas

In this episode, we follow Navajo roads to academia, switch paths from engineering to writing, and change the cadence of running to the peddle of mountain biking, as we process grief through words and story mapping.  Byron F. Aspaas is Diné. He is Táchii’nii, born for Tódich’iinii, and raised within the four sacred mountains of Dinétah, Byron received his BFA and MFA from the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in creative writing. His writing reflects upon the eradication of Navajoland, which draws readers into discourse about preservation with Diné culture and land. His writing can be found in Weber: The Contemporary West, Denver Quarterly, International Writing Program Collections, The Rumpus, Santa Fe Noir, Shapes of Native Nonfiction and The Diné Reader. Byron will begin as lecturer with Colorado State University – Pueblo (Fall ‘25) and will continue as poetry mentor for Western Colorado University’s Graduate Program in Creative Writing. He lives with his partner, six dogs, and four cats in Colorado Springs, Colorado.  You can follow Byron at https://www.byronaspaas.com/ and read his Letter to America at https://www.terrain.org/2024/poetry/letter-to-america-aspaas/. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2532264/support]

Positive Interference: The Audacity to Create a Better Future with Eco Poet, Erin Robertson

What happens when we take action toward a better future? We could end up sending ripples of "buoyant hope" and "positive interference" into the world. In this episode of The Heart Path Podcast, we talk with Eco Poet, Biologist, and Nature Writing Facilitator, Erin Robertson, about land partnerships, climate change, fire, and the resiliency of humanity when faced with the unknown.  Erin Robertson is the author of What the River May Bring:  Impressions of Interior Alaska and the forthcoming Singed Seeds:  A Marshall Fire Year.  In 2017, Erin founded BoCo Wild Writers, her outdoor nature writing class offerings. Her poetry has been published in the North American Review, Cold Mountain Review, Poet Lore, Deep Wild, and elsewhere, and has been performed by Ars Nova Singers and The Crossing choir. She is the current Writer-in-Residence for Friends of Coal Creek, and past honors include being a guest artist hosted by the U.S. Consulate in Kazakhstan, Voices of the Wilderness Artist in Residence at Koyukuk National Wildlife Refuge in Galena, Alaska, Boulder County Artist in Residence at Caribou Ranch, and awards in the Front Range Book Prize, Michael Adams Poetry Prize, and Columbine Poets Members' Contest. Erin earned her Master of Science in Museum and Field Studies from the University of Colorado studying botany and environmental interpretation, and worked as a conservation biologist advocating for endangered species in the Rocky Mountain West for nine years. Her remarkable husband, two sons, parakeet, and pup teach her about wonder every day. Website: erinrobertson.org [http://erinrobertson.org], wildwriters.org [http://wildwriters.org].  Instagram, Facebook:  @bocowildwriters Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2532264/support]

Image Rooted in Memory with Frontexto Artist and Poet, Octavio Quintanilla

In this episode, we explore imagery rooted in memory with Frontexto artist, poet, publisher, and instructor, Octavio Quintanilla.  Octavio Quintanilla is the 2025 Texas Poet Laureate and the author of the poetry collections, If I Go Missing (Slough Press, 2014), The Book of Wounded Sparrows (Texas Review Press, 2024), which was longlisted for the National Book Award, and Las Horas Imposibles / The Impossible Hours, winner of the 2024 Ambroggio Prize of the Academy of American Poets (University of Arizona Press, 2025).   Octavio is the founder and director of the literature & arts festival, VersoFrontera, publisher of Alabrava Press, and former Poet Laureate of San Antonio, TX. His Frontextos (visual poems) have been published and exhibited widely. He teaches Literature and Creative Writing at Our Lady of the Lake University and was recently inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters.  Website: https://www.octavioquintanilla.com/ IG: @writeroctavioquintanilla  Twitter: @OctQuintanilla   Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2532264/support]