"Ideas about our relationship with nature...[are] confused by wish, want-to-be, and imaginary worlds that have never existed." – from Strange Encounters, by Daniel B. Botkin
"Given enough ingenuity, a scientist can make practically any scheme sound plausible." - from The Life of an Oak, An intimate Portrait, by Glenn Keator
River landings are places where folks may stop for a while to exchange goods, passengers, news, stories, and opinions from upstream, downstream, and elsewhere. They are intersections or meeting places of the past and present, 
pointing the way, like an arrow, to some unknowable future; perhaps providing guidance for a time or shelter from a storm. It is my intention that these occasional notes, stories, and essays may function in a similar manner, providing provisions of ideas for further contemplation and, ultimately, understanding.
pointing the way, like an arrow, to some unknowable future; perhaps providing guidance for a time or shelter from a storm. It is my intention that these occasional notes, stories, and essays may function in a similar manner, providing provisions of ideas for further contemplation and, ultimately, understanding...........................................................................................
Side Channels: A Collection of Nature Writing and Memoir now available for purchase!
In 1994, I began writing a series of nature-related articles for Illinois Audubon magazine. All of the articles centered around some aspect of bird life based on field observations and the science of ecology. Many of these articles had the Illinois River, and to a lesser extent the Mississippi River, as an overall backdrop.
A few years ago, it occurred to me that these river-related articles might be updated, collected together into a book, and made available to a wider audience. But as I began thinking about how these articles might be arranged as chapters in a book, I felt that something was necessary to tie everything together and perhaps better allow the reader to approach the book as a whole. Toward this end, I began writing short memoir pieces that examine the roots of my fascination with rivers and wild areas, and how my perspectives on nature and human society have changed over the years. The book's chapters are arranged into two parts: River Life and Travel. Of the 30 chapters, 14 are previously published articles; the rest are mostly memoir and other previously unpublished materials. Debbie Scott Newman generously contributed the Foreword. In among the chapters are 14 sketches made by Patti Malmborg Reilly, most of which are based upon photographs that can be found in this weblog’s photo galleries. Discussions of the photographs used for the illustrations will be periodically posted on this weblog and compiled in a special category (see left panel) called "Side Channels Notes."
For more information about Side Channels or to read an excerpt, go to the author's website at www.side-channels.com.
For inquiries, send an e-mail through the "About" section of this weblog (see the upper left panel).
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Order from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or follow this link to the author's website:
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Books may also be ordered directly from the author by sending $15.95 (Illinois residents add 6.25% sales tax) to: (Make checks payable to Thomas V. Lerczak)
Side Channels
P.O. Box 33
Havana, Illinois 62644
For booksellers, Side Channels is available through Ingram and listed as returnable.
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Note: New entries will be posted no less than once per month.
All material on The River Landing is protected by U.S. Copyright laws and is the sole property of the author unless otherwise noted.
