Courant Columnist and Thoreau Author to Speak in Middletown

On the Nature of Nature, a series of occasional talks, readings and conversations on nature and sustainable living hosted by The Rockfall Foundation, presents an evening with  Robert Thorson and his latest book,  Walden's Shore: Henry David Thoreau and Nineteenth-Century Science.

Join us on March 27, 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m, at the deKoven House Community Center, for an author reading and presentation, audience conversation, book signing and reception.

According to Robert Thorson, Henry David Thoreau's 19th-century masterpiece, Walden, is a notable work of physical science as well as American literature. After a close reading of Thoreau's Journal, Thorson became interested in the writer's self-taught, scientific mind: the rock and mineral collector, pioneering limnologist and geoscientist, and interpreter of landscapes. Walden's Shore  illustrates Thoreau's skill with field science and how that skill transformed Walden from its beginnings as a social critique to its conclusion as a well-informed piece of nature writing.

Just as Walden ask us to imagine a "living earth," Walden's Shore  asks us to see Thoreau's search for truth as downward, his search for simplicity as more descendental than transcendental.

"Henry worked hard to understand Walden's geological narrative and its timeless limnology prior to the composition of his masterpiece...My ultimate goal is to show that  Walden is as strongly grounded in physical reality as it is in language, literature and mythology." --R. Thorson

Robert Thorson is a Professor of Geology at the University of Connecticut (Storrs), author of five previous books, public speaker and consultant on geo-topics, ranging from museum exhibit design to expert witness testimony.  Dr. Thorson's 2002 book, Stone by Stone: the Magnificent History of New England's Stone Walls,  won the CT Book Award for nonfiction. An op-ed columnist focusing on science, environment and education for the Hartford Courant, he's published more than 400 columns and essays. More information about his life, teaching and works can be found at http://robertthorson.uconn.edu/.

Suggested donation: $10 per guest; copies of Walden's Shore will be available for purchase.
Seating is limited. For reservations: Call (860)347-0340; or email tmarino@rockfallfoundation.org

Questions? Please call The Rockfall Foundation office (860)347-0340 or email
info@rockfallfoundation.org .