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The Wilder Heart of Florida

Name: The Wilder Heart of Florida
Author: Jack E. Davis
ISBN: 9781683404620

More Writers Inspired by Florida Nature

Edited by Jack E. Davis and Leslie K. Poole

Published by: University of Florida Press

In this captivating collection, Florida’s most notable authors, poets, and environmentalists take readers on a journey through the natural wonders of the state.

210 Pages6.00 × 9.00b/w illus.

Paperback
9781683404620
Published: November 12, 2024

$24.95

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Hardcover
9781683401636
Published: March 2, 2021

$26.95

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EPUB
9781683402305
Published: March 2, 2021

(Ebook delivery via Leaf eReader app.)

$17.95

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Description
Authors
Praise
Table of Contents

Fall under the spell of Florida’s natural environment

In this captivating collection, Florida’s most notable authors, poets, and environmentalists take readers on a journey through the natural wonders of the state. Continuing in the legacy of the beloved classic The Wild Heart of Florida, this book features thirty-four pieces by a new slate of well-known and emerging writers.

In these pages, New York Times bestselling author Lauren Groff describes the beauty of Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park. Environmental writer Cynthia Barnett listens to seashells on Sanibel Island. Legendary journalist Marjory Stoneman Douglas records the sights and sounds of the Everglades in the 1920s. Miccosukee elder Buffalo Tiger relates traditional stories of his community’s deep relationship with the land. Presidential inaugural poet Richard Blanco muses on the shifting vista of the ocean in “Some Days the Sea.”

These writers and many others recount memories of how their lives have been enriched by the state’s varied and brilliant landscapes. Some tell of encounters with alligators, pythons, manatees, turtles, and otters, while others marvel at the unique character of flowing springs and piney scrub. Together, they highlight the need to protect pristine ecosystems and restore ones that have been damaged due to development. The Wilder Heart of Florida will inspire readers to explore and celebrate the Florida wilderness.

Jack E. Davis is distinguished professor of history and the Rothman Family Chair in the Humanities at the University of Florida. He is the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Gulf: The Making of An American Sea and coeditor of Paradise Lost? The Environmental History of Florida. Leslie K. Poole is associate professor of environmental studies at Rollins College. She is the author of Tracing Florida Journeys: Explorers, Travelers, and Landscapes Then and Now and Saving Florida: Women’s Fight for the Environment in the Twentieth Century.

“The essays and poetry in The Wilder Heart of Florida offer sparkling writing and penetrating insights into what makes Florida such a special place. An essential read for anyone who cares about the state’s springs and scrub and other special places that are worth preserving.”—Craig Pittman, author of The State You’re In: Florida Men, Florida Women, and Other Wildlife
“This collection of essays by many of Florida’s best writers, compiled expertly by Jack Davis and Leslie Poole, takes a place of honor on my bookshelf. You can read it all in one sitting, if you like, but my advice is to read it a little at a time to make it last, like a jar of tupelo honey from North Florida.”—Jeff Klinkenberg, author of Son of Real Florida: Stories from My Life
“If you haven’t fallen madly in love with the wild heart of Florida by the end of this book, check your pulse.”—Janine Farver, former executive director, Florida Humanities Council

“Capture[s] Florida’s current precarious state of balance.”—Tampa Bay Times
“This collection . . . points to the need to keep the pressure on to save the ever shrinking wild areas and denizens of our fair state. . . . [A] wonderful little book.”—Florida Times-Union
“Rich in history and deep in science and expertise, [yet] nonetheless maintains a tone of wide-eyed wonder and sensuous delight.”—Winter Park Magazine
“The Wilder Heart of Florida belongs to the current generation, but it will also move future generations of Florida writers, explorers and activists to save the state’s unique landscapes and creatures, one orchid or spring at a time.”—Our Town Magazine

Foreword

Introduction
Leslie K. Poole and Jack E. Davis

Part 1. Beckonings

Seduction in Key West
Susan Lilley

The Story under the Story
Lauren Groff

Our Land
Buffalo Tiger

Soldier’s Creek Trail
Terry Ann Thaxton

Part 2. Revelations

Innocence Found
Bill Maxwell

The Seine
Jack E. Davis

My First Audubon Trip Hasn’t Ended Yet . . .
Charles Lee

Florida Boy
David McCally

The River That Raised Me
Gabbie Buendia

The Breathers, St. Mark’s Lighthouse
Rick Campbell

Part 3. Animals

Birds and Refuge
Frederick R. Davis

The Quiet Song of Sanibel Island
Cynthia Barnett

The Habits of Alligators
Loren G. “Totch” Brown

Gator!
Lee Irby

Feast of Pythons (Homage to Harry Crews)
Isaac Eger

One Manatee, Two Nations
Anmari Alvarez-Alemán

Woodpeckers and Wildness: The Disney Wilderness Preserve
Leslie K. Poole

Sighting by the St. Johns
Russ Kesler

Part 4. Water

Up the Oklawaha: A Sail into Fairy-Land
Harriet Beecher Stowe

Musings
Margaret Ross Tolbert

The Pulse of Paynes Prairie
Lars Andersen

From Springs Heartland to Wasteland . . . and Back?
Lucinda Faulkner Merritt

Wilderness from the Water
Claire Strom

The Rhythms of the Lagoon
Clay Henderson

Raw Water
Gianna Russo

Part 5. Terra Firma

Excerpts from The Galley
Marjory Stoneman Douglas

The Natural Aesthetic of the Naked God
Bruce Stephenson

Don’t Mourn the Orange
Mark Jerome Walters

Seasons of Love
Erika Henderson

Biscayne National Monument: Preserving Our Precious Bays
Nathaniel Pryor Reed

Part 6. At the Heart

Some Day the Sea
Richard Blanco

From A Seminole Legend: The Life of Betty Mae Tiger Jumper
Betty Mae Tiger Jumper and Patsy West

A Plea for Wider Justice
Marjory Stoneman Douglas

Florida Is a Pretty Girl
Frances Susanna Nevill

Acknowledgments

List of Contributors

Credits

Books

Authors

Journals

On The Site

Books

Authors

Journals

On The Site

The Wilder Heart of Florida

More Writers Inspired by Florida Nature

The Wilder Heart of Florida

More Writers Inspired by Florida Nature

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