Adventures With Ed: Earth Day Talk at the Bradbury

PEEC, the Bradbury Science Museum, and the New Mexico Humanities Council are very pleased to welcome Jack Loeffler to give a talk in honor of Earth Day, entitled “Adventures with Ed". Loeffler will speak about his good friend Edward Abbey - the famed American author, outspoken environmentalist, and writer of Desert Solitaire - and read an excerpt from the book he wrote about Abbey. The talk will take place at the Bradbury Science museum on April 22 at 5:30 p.m. Admission is free, and no advance registration is required.

Abbey was an American author and essayist of the mid 20^th Century.  He was noted for his advocacy of environmental issues and was critical of public land polices.  Desert Solitaire was Abbey’s fourth book and first work of non-fiction. It was published in 1968 and describes his two six-month stints as a seasonal ranger at Arches National Monument of southeastern Utah from 1956-1957. Desert Solitaire is regarded and one of the finest narratives in American literature and has been compared to Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac and Thoreau’s Walden. It has been in print for 40 years and is still read by nature lovers and wilderness defenders. Abbey has been described as “America’s prickliest and most outspoken environmentalist.”

Loeffler is a writer, aural historian, sound collage artist, and Chautauqua speaker for the New Mexico Humanities Council. He first met Abbey in the 1960s, and they became fast friends. “We camped, hiked, and talked for many years. I will talk about his approach to radical environmentalism and his legacy.” Loeffler has written Adventures with Ed: A Portrait of Abbey. He will read an excerpt from his book about Abbey and talk about their many adventures throughout the Southwest. Abbey died at the age of 62, twenty-five years ago on March 14. Abbey is among those great environmentally conscious individuals that were responsible for helping us preserve the beautiful places in the west. He joins the greats such as Thoreau, John Wesley Powell, John Muir, and Aldo Leopold.

This talk is made possible by generous funding from the New Mexico Humanities Council and the Department of Cultural Affairs.

Photo: Jack Loeffler, courtesy of New Mexico Humanities Council