As philosopher Simone Weil once wrote, "Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity." While many environmental narratives we read today tell the stories of glaciers and rainforests--places most of us will never visit in our lifetimes--it is attentiveness to one's immediate surroundings, in both nature writing and climate activism, that translates into the most powerful storytelling--and actions. This hour-long conversation between writers Kate Olson and Megan Mayhew Bergman, held under the grapevines at Frith Farm, will include short readings by each author followed by a conversation on the topic of hyperlocality--of the themes and stories, species and phenomena happening within our own area codes that deserve our attention, and how that attention shows up on the page. Kea Krause, Maine Lit Fest Fellow, will facilitate.
Free event with RSVP.
Megan Mayhew Bergman
Megan Mayhew Bergman is an award-winning fiction writer, conservation journalist, filmmaker, and cultural critic. She serves as Director of Creative Writing at Middlebury College and Director of the Bread Loaf Environmental Writers’ Conference. She is the author of four books and her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Guardian, The Paris Review, Harper’s Bazaar, and elsewhere
Kate Olson
Kate Olson is a writer, climate sociologist, and educator. Her work explores the interconnections among people, places, and livelihoods in a changing climate, from mega-dams in Southeast Asia to small town food systems. Her writing has appeared in Smithsonian Magazine, The Guardian, DownEast, Earth Island Journal, Buzzfeed News, and Civil Eats, among other places, and her essay “Dis-ease” was the recipient of the 2021 John Burroughs Nature Essay Award. Her book, Living Change: Finding Place in a Warming World, is under contract with HarperOne Publishers.
Kate is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at Bowdoin College. She holds a PhD in Sociology from Boston College, an MA in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning from Tufts University, and a BA in Sociology and Psychology from Middlebury College. She lives in the homelands of the Abenaki peoples of the Wabanaki Confederacy, in what is also called Maine.
Kea Krause
Kea Krause is a science and nature writer based in Maine. Her work has appeared inThe Atlantic, National Geographic, Orion, Sierra and Wired, among other media outlets, and has been anthologized in Best American Science and Nature Writing, Best American Travel Writing and Best American Food Writing. In 2024, her piece about the Penobscot River dam removal was a finalist for a National Nonprofit News Award. In addition to writing and reporting, Kea is a 2026 MWPA Lit Fest Fellow where she also occasionally leads workshops, and a member of the Wild Seed Project nonprofit board.