A poet among scientists …
Widely published Michigan poet Keith Taylor has spent the past 11 summers at the University of Michigan Biological Station, in the forests surrounding Douglas Lake, near Pellston. He spends his time there discussing research with scientists and students, sharing ideas in the dining hall, talking about the natural world with colleagues as summer evenings unfold, and of course, writing.
Here, in this video, Taylor talks with Leelanau County poet, essayist, playwright and teacher Anne-Marie Oomen as she asks him to share poems from his days at the research station—one poem about wolves, another about mice—and to discuss how the nexus of poetry and science has shaped his view of the natural world and our future in it.
This video, part of an ongoing series, is produced by Joe VanderMeulen for Nature Change, a Northern Michigan nonprofit dedicated to reporting on our changing ecology and people who are passionate about protecting nature.