Gretchen Legler will speak is a farmer, gardener, teacher, writer, lover of the natural world, and the author of three booklength works of nonfiction: “All The Powerful Things: A Sportswoman’s Notebook,” “On The Ice: An Intimate Portrait of Life at McMurdo Station Antarctica,” and “Woodsqueer: Crafting a Sustainable Rural Life.” Her writing has garnered two Pushcart Prizes, a Notable Essay designation in Best American Essays, the Association for the Study of Literature and Environment creative writing award, a starred review in Kirkus Reviews, was a finalist for the Steinberg Essay Prize, and the Publishing Triangle Judy Grahn Award for Lesbian Nonfiction. She teaches creative writing and English at the University of Maine Farmington, where she is also the director of the Campus and Community Garden.
Gretchen has been teaching creative writing for more than 30 years in MFA and undergraduate programs and community workshops in Alaska, Maine, Boston, New Hampshire and elsewhere. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and journalism from Macalester College, a master’s degree in creative writing and Ph.D. in English and feminist studies from the University of Minnesota, and a master’s of divinity from Harvard Divinity School, where her interests focused on exploring human connections to the sacred in the natural world.
Legler will speak at the Good Life Center on Sunday, Aug. 21 at 4 p.m. on “Woodsqueer: Reflections on Crafting a Sustainable Life in Rural Maine.” She will read passages from the book and share some of the joys and challenges of living a “modern” agrarian life.
Presentations take place outside at the Good Life Center in Harborside, rain or shine. Admission is free, but donations are greatly appreciated. For more information and directions, go to http://www.goodlife.org or call 207-374-5386.