Poetry and Prose

Storytelling has a long history on Mount St. Helens. Lawetlat'la, as the mountain is known to the Cowlitz Tribe and others, has been a cornerstone in indigenous oral tradition for millennia. Colonizers, settlers, and visitors to the region have been also drawn inspiration from this ephemeral mountain. It is difficult to visit the volcano and not leave with a sense of inspiration and awe, and here we have provided a collection of published works of poetry and prose by those who have visited or lived their lives in the shadow of this powerful volcano.

In the Red Zone

Prologue: Concerning Violence

Ursula Le Guin

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In the Blast Zone

Most popular accounts of the momentous eruption have focused on the devastation. More recent scientific work tells a story of unexpectedly rapid and varied ecological and geological change. In the Blast Zone is the first book to present a cross-pollination of literary and scientific perspectives on the mountain's history of cataclysm and renewal. Contributors include writers Gary Snyder and Ursula LeGuin and scientists Jerry Franklin and Charlie Crisafulli.

Reprinted with permission, from Charles Goodrich, Kathleen Dean Moore, and Frederick J. Swanson, In the Blast Zone: Catastrophe and Renewal on Mount St. Helens. © 2008 by Oregon State University Press.

Poetry and prose inspired by Mount St. Helens and written during a 2005 gathering of scientists and writers at Mount St. Helens		READ ALL
The Way to Windy Ridge	Tim McNulty	*READ*
Volcanic Blues: or, How the Butterfly Tamed the Volcano	Robert Michael Pyle	*READ*
Mount St. Helens	John Calderazzo	*READ*
On the Ridge	Robin Kimmerer	*READ*
Mountains and Mosses	Nalini Nadkarni	*READ*
Everlasting Wilderness	Christine Colasurdo	*READ*
Science Tribes on Mount St. Helens	James Sedell	*READ*
What if I Chose?	Kim Stafford	*READ*
Language of Volcanic Landscapes	Frederick J. Swanson	*READ*
Pearly Everlasting*	Gary Snyder	*READ*

Terrain.org

Terrain.org description		READ ALL
Dirty Words on Mount St. Helens	Simmons B. Buntin	*READ*
Cinders and Flowers	John Daniel	*READ*
Blind Spot	Cheryl J. Fish	*READ*
Volcanic/Panic	Cheryl J. Fish	*READ*
The Paradox of Enrichment	Christine Colasurdo	*READ*
The One We're Spiraling Into	Derek Sheffield	*READ*
Nest Site	Derek Sheffield	*READ*
Drawing from the Blast Zone	Jolie Kaytes	*READ*
Stretching Attention: Long-Term Science and Creative Writing	Charles Goodrich	*READ*

Poetry and Prose

In the Red Zone

In the Blast Zone

Terrain.org

In the Red Zone

In the Blast Zone

Terrain.org

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