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Poetry and Fiddle Tunes - Paul Brooke and Ken Waldman
1:00 PM – Pioneer Room, Memorial Union - Paul Brooke will read and show slides from his latest book of poetry, Light and Matter: Photographs and Poems of Iowa. Brooke previously worked as a biologist and naturalist in Alaska, and his writings draw on environmental issues and scientific observation. Brooke is an ISU alum (M.A., English) and currently an associate professor of English and chair of the Humanities Division at Grand View College in Des Moines. Ken Waldman has drawn on his twenty years in Alaska to produce poems, stories and fiddle tunes that combine into a performance uniquely his own. A former college professor, Waldman has had more than 400 poems and stories published in national journals and has worked full time since 1994 as Alaska's Fiddling Poet, performing at some of the nation's leading universities, festivals, arts centers, and clubs. Part of the 4th Annual Symposium on Wildness, Wilderness, and the Creative Imagination.

Books of Place and the Cartography of the Self - ISU Alumni Writers Roundtable
10:15 AM – Pioneer Room, Memorial Union - Four writers discussed their latest publications and explore both the physical and intellectual landscapes of their books - how and where the books were written as well as what effect setting or place has on character, persona, metaphors and imagery. Participating writers include Neelika Jayawardane, Deborah Holten, Michael McDermott, and Cristina Eisenberg. Following the roundtable, the writers will offer breakout discussion groups on various aspects of the process of writing. Part of the 4th Annual Symposium on Wildness, Wilderness, and the Creative Imagination and the Iowa State 150th Anniversary Alumni Lecture Series. Due to a blizzard and dangerous road conditions, ISU alums Anna Leahy, Linda Morganstein, and Richard Solly were unable to participate in this event as originally scheduled.

The Craft of Environmental Fiction - Brenda Peterson
9:00 AM – Pioneer Room, Memorial Union - Renowned nature writer Brenda Peterson will draw on examples from her novel Animal Heart in a discussion of how animals can become characters in fiction. The novel offers a captivating love story of people whose compassion for animals compels them into extraordinary acts of heroism. Peterson is the author of four novels, one of which, Duck and Cover, was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. She began her career working for The New Yorker and then relocated to the Pacific Northwest. Her articles and essays have appeared in the New York Times, Sierra, Orion, and Utne Reader. Part of the 4th Annual Symposium on Wildness, Wilderness, and the Creative Imagination.

Rapture in the Earth: Visions of Nature, Animals, and Spirit - Brenda Peterson
8:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Brenda Peterson is the author of three novels, one of which, Duck and Cover, was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. She began her career working for The New Yorker and then relocated to the Pacific Northwest. Her nonfiction includes Living by Water, Nature and Other Mothers, and Sister Stories. She also coedited, with Linda Hogan, the anthologies Intimate Nature: The Bond between Women and Animals and The Sweet Breathing of Plants: Women Writing on the Green World, a Book-of-the-Month Club selection. Peterson's articles and essays have appeared in the New York Times, Sierra, Orion, and Utne Reader. She will speak and show slides from her new work Raptured: Seal Sitting in the End Times and her memoir, Build Me an Ark: A Life with Animals. Part of the 4th Annual Symposium on Wildness, Wilderness, and the Creative Imagination.

Letters to a Young Iowan: Readings - Zachary Jack and Friends
2:00 PM – Ames Public Library, 515 Douglas Ave. - Iowa State alum Zachary Jack joins faculty and community members in reading from Letters to a Young Iowan. These wise, humorous, and thoughtful letters advise young Iowans on how to live in and preserve the environment of our home state. Zachary Jack is an assistant professor at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois, and editor of Black Earth and Ivory Tower: New American Essays from Farm and Classroom. Other participants include Jim Pease, an extension wildlife specialist and associate professor in the Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management; Neil Nakadate, University Professor of English and author of Understanding Jane Smiley; Susan Futrell an Ames native, freelance writer, and owner of One Backyard; Ames resident Phyllis Harris, author of Stories from Where We Live: Great Lakes Edition; and Karen Menz, who lives and teaches in Perry, Iowa.

Ethics and the Emotional Lives of Animals - Marc Bekoff
1:00 PM – Gilman Hall Auditorium, Rm 1002 - Marc Bekoff is Professor Emeritus of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder, a Fellow of the Animal Behavior Society, and a former Guggenheim Fellow. In 2000 he was awarded the Exemplar Award from the Animal Behavior Society for major long-term contributions to the field of animal behavior. Bekoff is also regional coordinator for Jane Goodall's Roots & Shoots program, in which he works with students of all ages, senior citizens and prisoners, and he is a member of the Ethics Committee of the Jane Goodall Institute. In 2000 he and Goodall cofounded the organization Ethologists for the Ethical Treatment of Animals: Citizens for Responsible Animal Behavior Studies. Bekoff is the author of eighteen books, including Animals Matter. Keynote address for the Symposium on the Ethics of Wildlife Research.

Tales of the Ice Ages - Tanya Atwater
7:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Tanya Atwater is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, a Distinguished Speaker of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers, and on the faculty of Geological Sciences at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She was educated at M.I.T., the University of California, Berkeley, and the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. Atwater researches many aspects of plate tectonics, especially the evolution of western North America and the San Andreas fault system. Her presentation brings Earth processes alive with computer animations.

L.A. Graffiti: Is It Art? - Steve Grody
7:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Since 1990 Los Angeles native Steve Grody has been studying the graffiti art of L.A.'s back alleys, washes and abandoned lots, cultivating trust among the city's most prolific, skilled and infamous graffiti writers. His recent book, Graffiti L.A.: Street Styles and Art, includes interviews with the artists and explores the motivations and creativity behind graffiti as well as questions of its legality. The book was named one of the top ten books of 2007 by New York Magazine. Steve Grody earned his B.A. in fine arts. He is also an internationally respected martial arts instructor and swing dance instructor, and choreographer for Jim Carrey and cast in The Truman Show.

Event Being Planned
8:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Event to be announced.

Beyond the Autism Diagnosis: How Professionals Can Help Parents - Marion O'Brien
7:00 PM – Sun Room, Memorial Union - Marion O'Brien directs the Family Research Center and is a professor in the Department of Human Development & Family Studies at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. She has conducted extensive research on children and families and is one of the investigators of the NICHD Study of Early Child Care & Youth Development. She is also an investigator for the STAR Project in Greensboro, NC, a longitudinal study of children's early social-emotional and cognitive skills and how they integrate to enhance early school success. O'Brien studies parenting practices and parental attitudes and their influence on parent-child relationships and child development. Her book for professionals who work with families of children with autism, Beyond the Autism Diagnosis, was published in 2006. Part of the Hansen Lecture Series.