Animal, Mineral, Radical Essays on Wildlife, Family, and Food

“Radical, before it meant a person who advocates strong political reform, meant getting to the root of things, the origin. It comes from the Latin radix, radicis,, meaning radish, a root vegetable.”—BK Loren These meditative essays range in subjects from a transcendental encounter with a pack of coyotes ironically juxtaposed with her neighbor’s claim that nature “has gone out of vogue,” to Loren’s mother’s slow yet all-encompassing deterioration from Parkinson’s, and the unexpected way the Loma Prieta earthquake eroded her depression by offering the author a sense of her small place in a wild and worthwhile world. Loren has an empathetic and gentle approach to the world. In detailing the intricacies of human relationships and consciousness—fear of death and time, cooperation born of clashing viewpoints, tradition’s beauty even when destructive, a love of language, a sense of loss amid the fast-paced materialistic world—she peels back the film of popular thinking in order to expose herself to the secrets so few of us ever see.

BK Loren has worked as a naturalist, assistant chef, ranch hand, furniture maker, UPS driver, college professor and many other things. She attended the Iowa Writer’s Workshop and currently teaches writing at Chatham University’s low residency program, the Iowa Summer Writing Festival, and other venues throughout North America. She is a winner of the Mary Roberts-Rinehart National Fellowship and also the author of the novel, Theft. Her work has been nominated for Pushcart Prizes three times. Loren lives with her partner, two dogs, and two cats in Colorado.