Episode 219: Nan Seymour

Practice You with Elena Brower

On our imperiled bodies of water, focusing on the majestic Great Salt Lake, and the urgency of divesting from harm.

• (0:00) - Introduction to Nan Seymour and Her Work
• (3:18) - The Great Salt Lake and Its Significance
• (6:06) - Human Impact and Environmental Concerns
• (9:07) - Efforts to Protect the Lake
• (13:58) - Hope and Future Actions
• (18:23) - Nan's Poetry and Personal Connection
• (26:01) - Community Engagement and Future Plans
• (31:27) - Closing Remarks and Resources

Nan created River Writing in order to foster voice and authentic connection. Everyone is welcome in her circles. This community-held writing practice was designed for anyone willing to pick up a pen. A recent PBS documentary highlights River Writing as a method of repair for what is broken in our relationship with the natural world.

Her debut poetry collection, prayers not meant for heaven, was published by Toad Hall Editions in the summer of 2021. Nan's story lake woman leaving, a modern myth, was awarded the 2022 Alfred Lambourne prize by Friends of Great Salt Lake.

As the poet-in-residence on Antelope Island, Nan led day-and-night vigils on behalf of the imperiled Great Salt Lake throughout the 2022 and 2023 Utah State legislative sessions. During her weeks on the receding lake shore, she assembled the praise poem called irreplaceable, ;a collective love letter containing over 400 individual voices from lake-facing citizens. The epic ode is a community cry for this essential ecosystem's full restoration. In the May 2023 special issue of Desert Report, Nan offers a reflection on relationship with the lake from the perspective of two winter vigils.

Nan continues to advocate for Rights of Nature, legally defensible personal rights for ecosystems, including Great Salt Lake. Her work gives voice to their inherent right to live, flourish, and evolve in natural way. The words emerge from a devotion to repairing the breach between humans and the rest of the sentient, singing earth.