A major new essay collection from the National Book Award-winning author of Arctic Dreams.
UNTITLED ESSAY COLLECTION
by Barry Lopez
Random House, Fall 2021
These new and collected essays from the acclaimed naturalist Barry Lopez—his final undertaking—represent the culmination of a lifetime’s thought in service of our relationship with wilderness, and with each other. Here, his collected essays offer a unifying vision; his drive to reconnect the cultural and the natural is unflinching, and major, never-published pieces offer profound commentary on topics that veer from the autobiographical—his abuse as a child—to the evolution of his views on the untamed. His classic prose, like the arctic landscape he elegized, remains as ever: “spare, balanced, extended…” It has been said that Barry Lopez understood what we gain when we accept the enormity of what we don’t know; these essays hinge on that tantalizing concept.
Barry Lopez (1945-2020) was the author of thirteen books of essays, short stories, and nonfiction. He was a recipient of the National Book Award, the Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and numerous other literary and cultural honors and awards. His highly acclaimed books include Horizon, Arctic Dreams, Winter Count, and Of Wolves and Men, for which he received the John Burroughs and Christopher medals.
Raquel Willis is a powerful woman. But growing up as a young boy in the South made being herself almost impossible. In this moving and provocative memoir, Raquel relives the many risks she faced in her struggle to become a fierce advocate for her community—and the powerful woman—that she is today. Today, she is known as a transgender trailblazer, both for work with the Transgender Law Center and speaker at the National Women’s March. She offers intimate reflections on masculinity and blackness, informed by a tumultuous relationship with her father. From a childhood built in opposition to expectations, all the way through her transition at a flagship Southern university, Raquel demonstrates that her story is but one thread in the larger tapestry of Black trans American life; a tapestry that has never truly been chronicled from this millennial, Southern perspective.
There are three important laws in Ezomo’s village: Don’t go to The Valley, don’t go out at night, and never, ever, ever open the door that protects them all. But when Ezomo encounters the leopard believed to have killed his father, he and his two friends embark on a journey that leads them past the boundaries set by their elders. Ezomo’s mother immediately falls deathly ill, and Ezomo doesn’t believe that it’s a coincidence. Eventhough he wasn’t able to save his father, Ezomo hopes he can save her. He receives a hint that the cure can be found behind the village door, in the Valley. With his friends by his side, Ezomo discovers the true history of his village, and that cautionary tales exist for a reason.
Adelle and Connie have been best friends for years, united by their love of a little known novel called 
A thing you were: Ellis and Easton have been inseparable since childhood. Their friendship is unbreakable or so Ellis thought.