About

Be at one with the dust of the earth. --Lao Tzu

I'm a writer, teacher, and regents professor in the English Department at Washington State University.

My theory of wilderness backpacking is this: for every day on the trail, you get two days of post-wilderness high. I get into the backcountry as often as I can.

I think teaching and learning are humans' two great gifts. The most exquisite forms of communication happen in that little petri dish called the classroom, whether the classroom is in a school, a field, a street corner, a mountain, or a dream.

I divide my time between Moscow, Idaho and Oak Park, Illinois.

Whenever I can, I collaborate. I need to spend time a good deal of time alone, too.