A Conversation with Cal Flyn

PRESENTER: CAL FLYN, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST AND MACDOWELL FELLOW
Islands of Abandonment: Nature Rebounding in the Post-Human Landscape is a beautiful, lyrical exploration of the places where nature is flourishing in our absence. Visiting the eeriest and most desolate places on Earth, which have been abandoned by humans due to war, disaster, disease, or economic decay, Cal Flyn finds “islands” of teeming new life. Nature has rushed in to fill the void faster and more thoroughly than even the most hopeful projections of scientists.

Some of the only truly feral cattle in the world wander a long-abandoned island off the northernmost tip of Scotland. A variety of wildlife not seen in many lifetimes has rebounded on the irradiated grounds of Chernobyl. A lush forest in the Korean peninsula’s narrow DMZ supports thousands of species that are extinct or endangered everywhere else on Earth.

Islands of Abandonment is a tour through these new ecosystems—sites of unexpected environmental significance where the natural world has reasserted its wild power and promise. And while the book doesn’t let us off the hook for addressing environmental degradation and climate change, it makes the case that hope is far from lost. It is ultimately a story of redemption; the most polluted spots on Earth can be rehabilitated through ecological processes and, in fact, they already have.

Cal Flyn is an author, investigative journalist, and MacDowell fellow from the Highlands of Scotland. She has worked as a reporter for The Sunday Times and The Telegraph and has contributed to publications including Granta, The Guardian, The Times, The Observer, and others. Her first book, Thicker Than Water, was named by The Times as one of the best books of 2016.

This event is co-sponsored by Cuyahoga County Public Library and will be broadcast live on Zoom. Registration and an email address are required to receive the link to participate. Order your copy of Islands of Abandonment from Mac’s Backs – Books on Coventry.