This is probably my favourite Substack reads edition so far. It's so much in line with the spirit that I want to cultivate on this platform as a writer. A contemplative Saturday read that reminds us of the simple but beautiful things in life.
I know what you mean. I have really come to appreciate the group of writers that has come together to support each other in navigating the complex Substack ecosystem. We have a monthly call where we share our joys and challenges.
That's wonderful to hear, Claudia. Bill has done a great job, and I hope the readership for writing that observes, appreciates, and protects the living world will grow in leaps and bounds.
Hooray! Delighted to see Bill featured here - and Antonia as one of his recommendations! Both doing terrific, enormously heartfelt work on Substack so I hope a ton of new readers for them is the result of all this.
Hello Hari, You are welcome. I really appreciate your writing and the way that you make nature seem both challenging and accessible. Both of these things are true. Keep up the good work. I hope this helps you gain a wider following.
Bravo, Bill! I enjoyed getting to know a bit more about you and to indulge in these wonderful selections. The images alone are a feast for the soul. 💚
Folks who are interested in discovering more great nature writing can check out NatureStack, my monthly collection of brilliant writing sourced on Substack and Reciprocity, interviews with nature writers. https://juliegabrielli.substack.com/t/naturestack
I generally like birds more easily than people and at this stage of life am far more likely to court a wild trout with a fly than I am to court favor with a maiden or the ladder rung just above the one I'm currently standing tiptoes upon. Bill is one of those easy exceptions to the rule. He's easy to like. And though some of that may spring from his ease with birds and trees, and his ability to speak so glowingly of them, I find it rather pointless to try to sort out just where the line is drawn with him, between nature lover and kindhearted student of life. He weaves an engaging tale. Which makes the seemingly impossible task of curating a Substack Reads for all of us, even more gratifying ...and dare I say, mystifying. I shudder to think of the weight of such a task. (And I shudder in advance for him, for those arrows that will almost certainly be aimed his direction by a few who need to speak of their disgruntledness for not telling his tale they way they might have or balancing it, just so.)
A tip of the cap, my friend for a job nicely done. For shining a bit of friendly light on storytellers who swim the depths and wade the shallows of the natural world, with all its poetry, its broken bits and feathered edges, its wondrous stories and magical abilities to heal. We're in your debt ...and smiling.
Thank you David for your beautiful and kind comment. I am grateful for the community we are building through Substack. We really seem to be gaining some momentum!
Thank you so much, Bill. As with your always-lovely writing, you've done an excellent job introducing Substack readers to the work some of us nature-focused writers have been doing. I'm honored to be included.
For those of you new to this tree-lined neighborhood of the Substack reader-writer ecosystem, keep in mind too that there are many other writers Bill might have included but couldn't fit in here. I'll let him make his own list, but I'll suggest Bryan Pfeiffer's Chasing Nature, Chloe Hope's Death and Birds, Julie Gabrielli's Homecoming, Rebecca Wisent's Fearless Green, Brad Steven's Ecologist at Large, Amanda Royal's Earth Hope, Michelle Nijhuis' Conservation Works, Katharine Winship's Matters of Kinship, and so many more. Maybe we should all chime in here with some more favorites?
To really gauge the depth and breadth of nature/environment/science/climate writing here on Substack, check out HOME by Rebecca Wisent, a comprehensive listing of nature-oriented newsletters. (https://ourhome.substack.com/)
Thank you Jason. A couple of other writers that come to mind include Chris LaTray's An Irritable Metis and Trackless Wild with Janisse Ray. An Irritable Metis has a lot of great recommendations for other writers on his site.
Bill: What a beautiful introduction to yourself and this week's selection! I'm happy to see some favorites here, well deserving this notice. Kudos, Antonia, David, David, and the rest.
This brought a lot of calmness while reading this during my lunch break. It's amazing! I felt a connection to this piece, like I'm standing on that grassy dirt pathway, gazing at the old house ahead of me. Beautiful!!! 🙌
There is little to no diversity among the writers featured here. This looks like an almost exclusively white, economically advantaged group - perhaps that's not true, but you couldn't prove it from a quick glance. Where are the Indigenous folks? Poor people? Black women? LGBTQIA+ people? Substack needs to do better with representing a wider sample of all the identities of the writers and publications here.
Thanks for raising this point, Kay. I agree that we should highlight the work of authors from more diverse, underrepresented groups. Several of the members of our nature writers group maintain directories for nature writing on Substack and they are actively searching for a wide range of people to include in their directories.
Agreed -- and, I often think about whether nature's voice is perhaps the least heard of all. I am happy to see here so many human voices -- of whatever stripe -- attempting to include her in the discourse. And I (along with many others here) am actively reaching out and extending the invitation for an even wider range of voices to speak up on her behalf.
We have a directory of nature writers and artists that's growing by leaps and bounds, here:
If Substack had a dedicated 'nature' category, that would certainly help with discoverability. If you know of any nature writers here among those groups, I'd love to learn about them. thanks.
This morning my husband and I sat outside with our coffee, listening to the silence and the birds and we were, at the same time, feeling very grateful but also yearning for a world that would be more in harmony with itself.
So this is what the kids mean by go outside and touch grass! The offerings here stir this city boy's soul. it's good to know that there is real, vivid life about existing in ways beyond politics and antisocial media.
This is probably my favourite Substack reads edition so far. It's so much in line with the spirit that I want to cultivate on this platform as a writer. A contemplative Saturday read that reminds us of the simple but beautiful things in life.
Hi Claudia, I am glad to hear that you appreciated this edition of Substack Reads. Thank you for letting us know that you value this type of writing.
Lately I felt a bit disconnected from Substack, but this newsletter rekindled some of that initial awe I felt when I joined two years ago.
I know what you mean. I have really come to appreciate the group of writers that has come together to support each other in navigating the complex Substack ecosystem. We have a monthly call where we share our joys and challenges.
This sounds lovely, something for the community and not for likes and statistics.
That's wonderful to hear, Claudia. Bill has done a great job, and I hope the readership for writing that observes, appreciates, and protects the living world will grow in leaps and bounds.
I hope so too. I saved several articles to read over the weekend, including yours. Looking forward :).
Hooray! Delighted to see Bill featured here - and Antonia as one of his recommendations! Both doing terrific, enormously heartfelt work on Substack so I hope a ton of new readers for them is the result of all this.
Thank you Mike. We are all hopeful that this opportunity will help elevate the status of nature writing on Substack.
I really, really hope so
BILL! I’m grinning from ear to ear, thank you so much 🥰 (I’m so glad you think I’m funny)
Hello Hari, You are welcome. I really appreciate your writing and the way that you make nature seem both challenging and accessible. Both of these things are true. Keep up the good work. I hope this helps you gain a wider following.
You are very funny. It's settled. 💚
Hey, my name's Hari, too! 🤣 I had to stop and take a double look! Omgggg too crazy lmao
Bravo, Bill! I enjoyed getting to know a bit more about you and to indulge in these wonderful selections. The images alone are a feast for the soul. 💚
Folks who are interested in discovering more great nature writing can check out NatureStack, my monthly collection of brilliant writing sourced on Substack and Reciprocity, interviews with nature writers. https://juliegabrielli.substack.com/t/naturestack
Hi Julie, Thank you. It has been gratifying to see this post get so much attention.
I generally like birds more easily than people and at this stage of life am far more likely to court a wild trout with a fly than I am to court favor with a maiden or the ladder rung just above the one I'm currently standing tiptoes upon. Bill is one of those easy exceptions to the rule. He's easy to like. And though some of that may spring from his ease with birds and trees, and his ability to speak so glowingly of them, I find it rather pointless to try to sort out just where the line is drawn with him, between nature lover and kindhearted student of life. He weaves an engaging tale. Which makes the seemingly impossible task of curating a Substack Reads for all of us, even more gratifying ...and dare I say, mystifying. I shudder to think of the weight of such a task. (And I shudder in advance for him, for those arrows that will almost certainly be aimed his direction by a few who need to speak of their disgruntledness for not telling his tale they way they might have or balancing it, just so.)
A tip of the cap, my friend for a job nicely done. For shining a bit of friendly light on storytellers who swim the depths and wade the shallows of the natural world, with all its poetry, its broken bits and feathered edges, its wondrous stories and magical abilities to heal. We're in your debt ...and smiling.
I'm so grateful for your beautiful work, David.
I'll second that, David. Thank you for seeing and speaking so lyrically and honestly.
🙏
Thank you, Julie.
Hear, hear, David! What a gift it is to know him (and you).
Thank you David for your beautiful and kind comment. I am grateful for the community we are building through Substack. We really seem to be gaining some momentum!
🙃🙃🙃🤗🤗🤗🥰🥰🥰
Thank you so much, Bill. As with your always-lovely writing, you've done an excellent job introducing Substack readers to the work some of us nature-focused writers have been doing. I'm honored to be included.
For those of you new to this tree-lined neighborhood of the Substack reader-writer ecosystem, keep in mind too that there are many other writers Bill might have included but couldn't fit in here. I'll let him make his own list, but I'll suggest Bryan Pfeiffer's Chasing Nature, Chloe Hope's Death and Birds, Julie Gabrielli's Homecoming, Rebecca Wisent's Fearless Green, Brad Steven's Ecologist at Large, Amanda Royal's Earth Hope, Michelle Nijhuis' Conservation Works, Katharine Winship's Matters of Kinship, and so many more. Maybe we should all chime in here with some more favorites?
To really gauge the depth and breadth of nature/environment/science/climate writing here on Substack, check out HOME by Rebecca Wisent, a comprehensive listing of nature-oriented newsletters. (https://ourhome.substack.com/)
Thank you Jason. A couple of other writers that come to mind include Chris LaTray's An Irritable Metis and Trackless Wild with Janisse Ray. An Irritable Metis has a lot of great recommendations for other writers on his site.
Bill: What a beautiful introduction to yourself and this week's selection! I'm happy to see some favorites here, well deserving this notice. Kudos, Antonia, David, David, and the rest.
Hello Tara, Thank you. It was a lot of fun putting this together and getting to know the other writers.
Thank you, Bill! An honor to be included alongside such great writers.
Hi Bill, You deserve it! I have learned a lot about the art of photography and creativity on your Substack.
Great
There is great satisfaction when one discovers inner potentials/ Ideas
Yes, it is very satisfying and calming. My life has gotten so much easier in many ways.
"Here’s to shining more light into the world by supporting writers who are open to epiphany."
This brought a lot of calmness while reading this during my lunch break. It's amazing! I felt a connection to this piece, like I'm standing on that grassy dirt pathway, gazing at the old house ahead of me. Beautiful!!! 🙌
There is little to no diversity among the writers featured here. This looks like an almost exclusively white, economically advantaged group - perhaps that's not true, but you couldn't prove it from a quick glance. Where are the Indigenous folks? Poor people? Black women? LGBTQIA+ people? Substack needs to do better with representing a wider sample of all the identities of the writers and publications here.
Thanks for raising this point, Kay. I agree that we should highlight the work of authors from more diverse, underrepresented groups. Several of the members of our nature writers group maintain directories for nature writing on Substack and they are actively searching for a wide range of people to include in their directories.
Agreed -- and, I often think about whether nature's voice is perhaps the least heard of all. I am happy to see here so many human voices -- of whatever stripe -- attempting to include her in the discourse. And I (along with many others here) am actively reaching out and extending the invitation for an even wider range of voices to speak up on her behalf.
We have a directory of nature writers and artists that's growing by leaps and bounds, here:
https://ourhome.substack.com
And Julie Gabrielli's NatureStack Journal, which highlights a wide range of nature writers and their work, here:
https://juliegabrielli.substack.com
There's a wealth of incredible work out there!
Thank you for sharing these links Rebecca.
If Substack had a dedicated 'nature' category, that would certainly help with discoverability. If you know of any nature writers here among those groups, I'd love to learn about them. thanks.
This morning my husband and I sat outside with our coffee, listening to the silence and the birds and we were, at the same time, feeling very grateful but also yearning for a world that would be more in harmony with itself.
So this is what the kids mean by go outside and touch grass! The offerings here stir this city boy's soul. it's good to know that there is real, vivid life about existing in ways beyond politics and antisocial media.
What a great selection - thanks Bill!