Thursday October 6
6:30 Emlen Hall at The Bay School

17 Bay School Road
Blue Hill, Maine 04614

Doors will open at 6:00 for an exhibition of portraits by Robert Shetterly

This local gathering will feature a panel discussion led by Robert Shetterly, in conversation with environmental activists Steven Donziger and Florence Reed – whose portraits are featured in the book.  This will be a rare opportunity to hear from Donzinger about his dramatic journey from top-tier environmental lawyer, to corporate victim, prisoner, and cult figure. Florence Reed will update us on her critical international work with farmers.  All three will be available for book signing.

AWTT will also honor local retired minister and environmental champion Rob McCall (also featured in the book). Author of Awanadjo Almanack, McCall in known for his memorable quotes: “Around here the spirits of the town are mostly Christian. But the spirits of the forests are Algonquin; the spirits of the snow and ice are Inuit; the spirits of the mountains are Buddhist; the spirits of the big trees, rocks and waterfalls are Shinto; the spirits of the animals are Neolithic; the spirits of the bays and islands are Celtic, Druid and Pagan.  If you stay in town, Christianity might be all you need. But if you wander far out beyond the town, Christianity may not be enough.”

 

This second volume in the Americans Who Tell the Truth series features Robert Shetterly’s magnificent color portraits and profiles of fifty environmental and climate activists–people who diagnose the truth of the greatest crisis humanity has ever confronted and take action. The book also features original essays by revered environmentalists Bill McKibben, Leah Penniman, Diane Wilson, Bill Bigelow, and Robin Wall Kimmerer, whose words illuminate the plight and its causes, and point a way forward.

Along with the genocide of Indigenous peoples and the institution of slavery, the third tragic and persistent mistake of the leaders of this country was to attempt to separate economic and political culture from the laws of nature–to operate on the basis that nature could be exploited endlessly for profit. The damage done to the Earth and to the future of life on the planet is incalculable. The people portrayed here have bought warnings, offered solutions, and organized movements to restore ecological sanity.

Copies of the book will be available for sale. This event is free and open to the public.

 

Co-sponsored by Americans Who Tell the Truth, Blue Hill Books, and WERU Community Radio.