Writing Into the Sunset: An Evening with Annie Proulx

Working on an essay about peatlands took author Annie Proulx down unexpected side alleys. She found 140-year old marginal notations repeatedly accusing Alfred Lord Tennyson of plagiarism, butterfly collectors who could not stop, photographs of the American southern swampland by a Department of the Interior biologist who saw aspects of the natural world that no longer exist, and more. The Seattle Program Committee invited Academy members and guests to a conversation with Proulx and Shawn Wong about the strange corners writing research leads one into, and what can be discovered there. Following the discussion and a period for questions, attendees came together for a social reception in the Walker-Ames Room of Kane Hall.