\nJanisse Ray\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
OXFORD, Miss. – Passion for the environment and literature
\ncome together in a lecture Thursday (April 24) at the
\nUniversity of Mississippi.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n\n\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\nWriter, naturalist and activist Janisse Ray gives a
\n“Greening the University” lecture at 7 p.m. in Farley Hall
\nAuditorium. Ray, author of three books of literary
\nnonfiction, was UM’s 2003-04 John and Renee Grisham
\nWriter-in-Residence.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n\nHer return to campus is through the help of Ann
\nFisher-Wirth, who is steering an environmental task force
\nat UM with the goal of raising environmental consciousness
\nand identifying environmental issues on campus. She said a
\ndynamic speaker was needed to inaugurate the movement with
\nenergy and charisma, and Ray was the perfect choice.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n\n“I’ve known Janisse through environmental organizations and
\nactivities for over a decade,” said Fisher-Wirth, professor
\nof English. “When she lived here, she was beloved by the
\nwhole community. She is a stupendous speaker, and I hope
\npeople will come hear her and engage in conversation about
\nwhat universities can do in terms of environmental
\nawareness.”
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n\nRay lectures widely on nature, community, organic
\nagriculture, native plants, sustainability and the politics
\nof wholeness. As an organizer and activist, she works to
\ncreate sustainable communities, local food systems, a
\nstable global climate, intact ecosystems, clean rivers,
\nlife-enhancing economies and a participatory democracy.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n\nThe author said she enjoyed the year she spent in Oxford,
\nand she focuses on living sustainably on her family farm in
\nsouthern Georgia.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n\n“Our institutions are at an exciting place in that they are
\nrecognizing – in the face of climate change and other
\ndisintegrations of natural resources – that the time to be
\nsustainable has arrived,” Ray said. “I’ll be talking about
\nthe ways that the University of Mississippi is in a unique
\nand enviable place to implement more sustainable practices.
\nI’ll talk about American lifestyles, how we live and how we
\nneed to live, and also about things other universities have
\ndone to go green. The University of Mississippi can easily
\nmake a name for itself and be a regional leader in this
\nendeavor.”
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n\nElements of ecology and autobiography are woven into Ray’s
\nworks, including “Ecology of a Cracker Childhood” (Milkweed
\nEditions, 1999). The book is a memoir about growing up on a
\njunkyard in the ruined longleaf pine ecosystem of the
\nSoutheast. Besides being a plea to protect and restore the
\nglorious pine flatwoods of the South, the book looks hard
\nat family, mental illness, poverty and fundamentalist
\nreligion.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n\nHer second book, “Wild Card Quilt: Taking a Chance on Home”
\n(Milkweed Editions, 2003), focuses on rural communities.
\nThe third, “Pinhook: Finding Wholeness in a Fragmented
\nLand” (Chelsea Green 2005), is the story of a 750,000-acre
\nwild land corridor between south Georgia and north
\nFlorida.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n\nIn 2007 Ray started a small press, Wildfire, in order to
\npublish Southern nature writing. An anthology of local
\nstories about a Georgia preserve, “Moody Forest,” has
\nrecently been published. She has been a visiting professor
\nat Coastal Carolina University, scholar-in-residence at
\nFlorida Gulf Coast University, and writer-in-residence at
\nKeene State College and Green Mountain College. She holds a
\nMFA from the University of Montana, and in 2007 was awarded
\nan honorary doctorate from Unity College in Maine.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n\nThis year, she is on the faculty of Chatham University’s
\nlow-residency MFA program. She will also teach at
\nWildbranch Writing Workshop and Unity College’s workshop
\nfor teachers, “Education in a Changing Climate.”
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n\nHer lecture at UM is co-sponsored by the Faculty Senate,
\nUniversity Lecture Series, Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors
\nCollege, Associated Student Body and the departments of
\nEnglish, Art and Biology, as well as the Unitarian
\nUniversalist Church.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n\nFor more information or assistance related to a disability,
\ncontact Fisher-Wirth at afwirth@olemiss.edu.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u00a0 Janisse Ray OXFORD, Miss. – Passion for the environment and literature come together in a lecture Thursday (April 24) at the University of Mississippi. \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[222],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Former Grisham Writer-in-Residence Janisse Ray Returns to Speak April 24 - Ole Miss News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/former-grisham-writer-in-residence-janisse-ray-returns-to-speak-april-24\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Former Grisham Writer-in-Residence Janisse Ray Returns to Speak April 24 - Ole Miss News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u00a0 Janisse Ray OXFORD, Miss. – Passion for the environment and literature come together in a lecture Thursday (April 24) at the University of Mississippi. \u00a0\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/former-grisham-writer-in-residence-janisse-ray-returns-to-speak-april-24\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ole Miss News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"-0001-11-30T00:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-09-23T14:24:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/ezing.me\/transfer\/wp-content\/uploads\/stories\/ray.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@OleMissRebels\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@OleMissRebels\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/\",\"name\":\"Ole Miss News\",\"description\":\"The official source for University of Mississippi news\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/former-grisham-writer-in-residence-janisse-ray-returns-to-speak-april-24\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/ezing.me\/transfer\/wp-content\/uploads\/stories\/ray.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/former-grisham-writer-in-residence-janisse-ray-returns-to-speak-april-24\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/former-grisham-writer-in-residence-janisse-ray-returns-to-speak-april-24\/\",\"name\":\"Former Grisham Writer-in-Residence Janisse Ray Returns to Speak April 24 - Ole Miss News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/former-grisham-writer-in-residence-janisse-ray-returns-to-speak-april-24\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"-0001-11-30T00:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-09-23T14:24:33+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/4515cb1b4f8a759552c0827c3df56430\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/former-grisham-writer-in-residence-janisse-ray-returns-to-speak-april-24\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/#\/schema\/person\/4515cb1b4f8a759552c0827c3df56430\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/0.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3e8e7562bf6d779d771ad8ce4cecd7ef?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=661"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42757,"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661\/revisions\/42757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"ray.jpg\"](\"http:\/\/ezing.me\/transfer\/wp-content\/uploads\/stories\/ray.jpg\" "\\"ray.jpg\\"")
<\/p>\n