Author Nancy Lord to present ‘The Warming Warning: What the North is Telling Us Now’ Feb. 6 and 12 at Western

In conjunction with Western Washington University’s annual Western Reads program, the University will host author Nancy Lord for two presentations, ‘The Warming Warning: What the North is Telling Us Now’ at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 6 in Arntzen Hall 100, and at Western’s Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies’ World Issues Forum at noon on Wednesday, Feb. 12 in the Fairhaven Auditorium.

The presentations are free and open to the public; the Feb. 6 event will be streamed live at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/wwu-live-events1.

Lords is the author of this year’s Western Reads selection, “Early Warming: Crisis and Response in the Climate-Changed North.” The book goes beyond documenting the climate change already so dramatic in Alaska and the Canadian Northwest to look at how northerners, especially indigenous peoples known for their resilience and adaptation, are responding.

Lord writes from her home base in Homer, Alaska. Her work is informed by a deep connection to the landscape and culture of the place she calls home. As a commercial salmon fisherman for twenty-five years (now retired) and later as a naturalist and historian on adventure cruise ships, she takes a particular interest in coastal Alaska and the sustainability of its resources and communities. She served as the Alaska Writer Laureate from 2008-2010 and is the author of nine books of nonfiction, fiction, and memoir.

Western Reads is a campus-wide reading program designed to promote intellectual engagement, community and conversation among new students. Western Reads serves Western’s mission of promoting “Engaged Excellence” by bringing together teaching, scholarship and community service in a liberal arts, student-centered context.

In addition to the two presentations on campus, Lord will attend a book reading at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 8 at Village Books in Fairhaven.

For more information on the Western Reads program, contact Dawn Dietrich, director of Western Reads and Western Washington University professor of English, at Western.Reads@wwu.edu or visit the Western Reads site at http://www.wwu.edu/westernreads.