"Writing Outside" kicks off new lecture series at Finlandia

HANCOCK -- The lecture series "Writers on Location" kicked off at Finlandia University on Jan. 25 with a talk by local writer Katie Alvord called "Writing Outside: Crafting Prose In and About Nature."

Author Katie Alvord speaks to an audience at Finlandia University on "Writing Outside: Crafting Prose In and About Nature." Her Jan. 25 presentation was the first in a series, "Writers on Location." (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

Speaking to an audience of more than 40 people, Alvord shared several stories about nature writing. She also read excerpts from her work and showed slides, including photographs taken by award-winning nature photographer Don Jackson.

During her talk about "Writing Outside," Katie Alvord showed this image of a bald eagle by award-winning nature photographer Don Jackson. (Photo © and courtesy Don Jackson Photography. Reprinted with permission.)

Alvord told first of a trip to Klamath Basin on the California-Oregon border, where she climbed to a ridgetop bird blind in sub-zero temperatures with photographer Jackson to write about watching bald eagles.

Don Jackson, nature photographer, is shown here with his photo "Screaming Eagle," which was taken in Klamath Basin, where Alvord and Jackson collaborated on an article about eagle-watching. (Photo © and courtesy Don Jackson Photography. Reprinted with permission.)

Alvord also discussed writing about Central, Michigan’s Heritage Apple Project, a joint effort of the Keweenaw Land Trust and Keweenaw County Historical Society, and talked about her 2007 article series on climate change in the Lake Superior basin for Keweenaw Now. That series went on to win a national journalism award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science.*

"Writers on Location" is being presented for students and community members by Finlandia’s English Department and Hancock Central High School. Next up in the series is a talk by award-winning children’s author Lesley du Temple, who will discuss natural history writing for children in the lecture titled "Tigers in Your Living Room." The program -- scheduled for 4:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 1, in Finlandia’s Chapel of St. Matthew -- is free and open to the public.

* Editor's Note: Click here to read about Katie Alvord's award and find links to her three Keweenaw Now articles on climate change.