Nevada Humanities publishes new Humanities Guide to Outdoor Nevada
Nevada Humanities is pleased to announce the publication of Sagebrush to Sandstone: A Humanities Guide to Outdoor Nevada, a 100-page nature guide published by Nevada Humanities and designed by Black Rock Press, including special front and back covers letterpress printed by Black Rock Press.
Part nature guide, part poetry book, and part workbook, Sagebrush to Sandstone: A Humanities Guide to Outdoor Nevada includes poems by writers from around the state paired with illustrations depicting Nevada’s natural beauty. The guide contains a foreword by Nevada Humanities executive director, Christina Barr, as well as an introduction by Debra Harry, an associate professor in the Department of Gender, Race, and Identity at the University of Nevada, Reno, and a member of the Nevada Humanities Board of Trustees.
The guide, which is edited by Kathleen Kuo and Scott Dickensheets, also includes creative prompts accompanied by scientific text to inspire more active and reflective engagement with the natural world. Sagebrush to Sandstone: A Humanities Guide to Outdoor Nevada is part of Nevada Reads, which is a statewide reading program of Nevada Humanities. Designed to complement the Nevada Reads 2021 theme of “Cultivating Environmental Literacy,” the guide is intended to move people outdoors as they explore the world around them and find new connections between the sciences and humanities.
Sagebrush to Sandstone: A Humanities Guide to Outdoor Nevada is available in limited edition print copies while supplies last and to everyone online as a free downloadable digital copy at the Nevada Humanities website at: nevadahumanities.org/sagebrush-to-sandstone.
“The value of the humanities is that it moves us to share the human experience, bringing us closer together,” says Christina Barr, executive director of Nevada Humanities. “We are proud that Sagebrush to Sandstone embodies this ethos of connectivity, where the voices of Nevada thinkers, poets, artists, and scientists combine to foster a deeper understanding of our natural world. Our new publication is intended to be the beginning of many journeys, and we cannot wait to see where the guide takes us all as we explore Nevada’s open spaces.”
“The great thing about Sagebrush to Sandstone is that it brings together two of Nevada’s most vital resources—nature and literature,” said Scott Dickensheets who co-edited Sagebrush to Sandstone. “Many residents might not realize how richly endowed the state is in both, and how long, varied, and fruitful the interplay between them has been. Hopefully this workbook will prompt them to explore each more deeply. That’s exactly the effect it had on me.”
Contributions from the following Nevada poets are included in this publication: Michelle Aucoin Wait, Jennifer Battisti, Gayle Brandeis, Angela M. Brommel, Echo Clark, Elaine Dallman, Shaun T. Griffin, Karen Laing, Heather Lang-Cassera, Rodney J. Lee, Stephen Shu-Ning Liu, Adrian C. Louis, Joanne Mallari, Waddie Mitchell, nila northSun, Gailmarie Pahmeier, Melanie Perish, Elizabeth Quiñones-Zaldaña, Kirk Robertson, Drew Seevers, Gary Short, and Charlene Stegman Moskal.
The following visual artists, who were inspired by Nevada, contributed to this publication: Pat Hansen, Jack Malotte, Tiffany Pereira, and Sharon K. Schafer. Additionally, scientists and scholars contributed notes and prompts. They include: Kevin Burls, Kelsey Fitzgerald, Matt Forister, Benjamin Hatchett, Steve Hromada, JD Lancaster, Elizabeth Leger, Morgan Long, Tatianna Menocal, Danielle Miles, Cynthia Scholl, Kacie N. Shourd, Devon Snyder, Katherine Strain, Benjamin Sonnenberg, Henry Sun, and Alexandra Urza.
Visit nevadahumanities.org for more information about this publication, Nevada Reads, and future Nevada Reads programming inspired by Sagebrush to Sandstone.
Publication of Sagebrush to Sandstone: A Humanities Guide to Outdoor Nevada was made possible with help from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Nevada Center for the Book, City of Reno Arts and Culture Commission, the Charles Redd Center for Western Studies at Brigham Young University, and the John Ben Snow Memorial Trust.
Nevada Reads is a program of Nevada Humanities and is made possible with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Charles Redd Center for Western Studies at Brigham Young University, City of Reno Arts and Culture Commission, and the John Ben Snow Memorial Trust.
Nevada Humanities is one of 56 independent, nonprofit state and territorial humanities councils affiliated with the National Endowment for the Humanities. With offices in Reno and Las Vegas, Nevada Humanities creates public programs and supports public projects statewide that define the Nevada experience and facilitate the exploration of issues that matter to the people of Nevada and their communities. For more information about Nevada Humanities visit nevadahumanities.org. To learn more about Nevada Humanities and Nevada Center for the Book, visit nevadahumanities.org.