On November 29, Rick Bass, the author of twenty-five books, including short-story collections, novels, and essays participated in Jenkins Hall Humanities, English and science classes. He spoke with the girls about his journey from petroleum geologist to outspoken environmental activist and discussed his writing with the senior English students in a Harkness group.

That evening he gave a special reading to a packed house of students, faculty and community members in the Sottile Thompson Recital Hall and answered questions about his life and career. A long-time resident of Montana's remote Yaak Valley, Bass has written extensively about that region and has used his talents to advocate for the preservation of its old-growth forests and the plenitude of species that depend on those forests for their survival. Early in his career, Bass worked as petroleum geologist, work he celebrates in his book Oil Notes. But after his move to Montana, Bass' work became increasingly concerned with articulating an approach to environmental activism that would embrace "wildness" as a necessary attribute of our own human consciousness. His tireless commitment to Thoreau's precept that "in wildness is the preservation of the world" has informed all of his writing, including his short stories and novels, in such works as Where the Sea Used to Be and The Sky, the Stars, the Wilderness, and The Hermit's Story.

Watch the Full Reading: