Colorado State University Alumnae to Participate in Alumni Author Reading April 24

Colorado State University alumnae Amy Seidl and Laura Pritchett will speak about and read excerpts from their new books in an alumni author reading in honor of Earth Day and CSU’s green initiatives at 4 p.m. April 24 in the Natural Resources Building Room 113 on the Colorado State University campus.

Seidl received a Master of Science degree in entomology from CSU, while Pritchett received her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in English from CSU.

In Seidl’s new book, "Early Spring: An Ecologist and Her Children Wake to a Warming World," she brings the overwhelming problem of global warming to a personal level with a mix of memoir and science.  

By drawing on her 20-year career studying ecology, evolution and butterflies across North America, Seidl illuminates the historical significance and the everyday local impacts of global warming upon the 21st century landscape. She brings home the reality of global warming by considering how it has altered her life, her daughters’ experiences outdoors and the traditions of her quintessential small New England town: the iconic landscape celebrated by Robert Frost, Norman Rockwell and many others.

Pritchett’s book, "Going Green: True Tales from Gleaners, Scavengers, and Dumpster Divers," gathers the work of more than 20 writers to tell their personal stories of dumpster diving, eating road kill, salvaging plastic from the beach and forgoing another trip to the mall for the thrill of bargain hunting at yard sales and flea markets.

Going Green’s stories look at the larger, thornier issues dealing with what re-using – or not – says about culture and priorities. The book contains practical and creative new ways to think about recycling and invites readers to find their own ways of going green.

While both authors received some schooling at CSU, Seidl also received a doctorate in biology from the University of Vermont and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hampshire College, while Pritchett received her doctorate degree in contemporary American literature/creative writing at Purdue University.

Seidl frequently keynotes and lectures on climate change, renewable energy, local food systems and the emerging field of sustainability science. She has taught in the Environmental Programs at UVM and Middlebury College and is currently a research scholar at Middlebury.

Pritchett authored "Sky Bridge," and a collection of short stories, "Hell’s Bottom, Colorado."  Pritchett is also editor/co-editor of two other books and has had more than 50 essays and short stories published in numerous magazines.

Pritchett, a member of the faculty at Denver’s Lighthouse Writers Workshop, teaches occasional writing courses and is a freelance writer.

Seidl will also be doing a book reading and signing at the Tattered Cover in downtown Denver on April 25.

The event is sponsored by Changing Climates @ CSU, the Warner College of Natural Resources, and the Colorado State University Alumni Association.

For more information about the authors’ work, visit www.laurapritchett.com and www.earlyspringthebook.com.

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