From one of the greatest nature writers of our generation, a revelatory book that transforms how we imagine rivers—and life itself.
Join us for a special evening with nature writer, mountain climber, and globe-trotter Robert Macfarlane for the release of his highly-anticipated book, Is A River Alive? Macfarlane is joined in conversation by local historian, geologist, and naturalist David B. Williams, author of Homewaters: A Human and Natural History of Puget Sound. Tickets are required in advance.
This event is co-sponsored by the North Cascades Institute, a nonprofit conservation organization working to inspire environmental stewardship through transformative learning experiences in nature. Learn more at ncascades.org.
What you need to know:
All tickets must be purchased through Eventbrite. Pre-order of book will not grant you access to the event.
Book-bundled tickets include a copy of the featured book. General Admission includes a donation to our Books to Students Fund.
If purchase a book-bundled ticket and are unable to attend the event, your book will be placed on hold at our Lake Forest Park store. You may request to have your book placed on hold at our Ravenna or Seward Park location. Please allow time for transfer.
Is A River Alive and other books by Robert Macfarlane and David B. Williams will be available for purchase at the store. This event will include a public signing and time for audience Q&A.
About Is a River Alive?. . .
Hailed in the New York Times as “a naturalist who can unfurl a sentence with the breathless ease of a master angler,” Robert Macfarlane brings his glittering style to a profound work of travel writing, reportage, and natural history. Is a River Alive? is a joyful, mind-expanding exploration of an ancient, urgent idea: that rivers are living beings who should be recognized as such in imagination and law.
Macfarlane takes readers on three unforgettable journeys teeming with extraordinary people, stories, and places: to the miraculous cloud-forests and mountain streams of Ecuador, to the wounded creeks and lagoons of India, and to the spectacular wild rivers of Canada—imperiled respectively by mining, pollution, and dams. Braiding these journeys is the life story of the fragile chalk stream a mile from Macfarlane’s house, a stream who flows through his own years and days.
Powered by dazzling prose and lit throughout by other minds and voices, Is a River Alive? will open hearts, challenge perspectives, and remind us that our fate flows with that of rivers—and always has.
Praise for Is a River Alive?. . .
"A rich and visionary work of immense beauty. Robert Macfarlane is a memory keeper. What is broken in our societies, he mends with words. Rarely does a book hold such power, passion, and poetry in its exploration of nature. Read this to feel inspired, moved and, ultimately, alive with the world."
—Elif Shafak, author of There Are Rivers in the Sky
"Robert Macfarlane is a once-in-a-generation virtuoso, and I don’t know when his kaleidoscopic language and world-expanding scholarship have been used to more potent effect than in this impassioned, resounding affirmative to the title’s urgent question."
—John Vaillant, author of Fire Weather
"This book is itself a river of poetic prose, an invitation to get onboard and float through the rapids of encounters with places and people, the eddies of ideas, to navigate the resurgence of Indigenous worldviews through three extraordinary journeys recounted with a vividness that lifts readers out of themselves and into these waterscapes. Read it for pleasure, read it for illumination, read it for confirmation that our world is changing in wonderful as well as terrible ways."
—Rebecca Solnit, author of Orwell’s Roses
"This book is a beautiful, wild exploration of an ancient idea: that rivers are living participants in a living world. Robert Macfarlane’s astonishing telling of the lives of three rivers reveals how these vital flow forms have the power not only to shape and reshape the planet, but also our thoughts, feelings, and worldviews. Is a River Alive? is a breathtaking work that speaks powerfully to this moment of crisis and transformation."
—Merlin Sheldrake, author of Entangled Life
"Engaged deeply with the question of the title, Robert Macfarlane has set out to demonstrate not only that rivers ARE alive, but how, and why, and in what kinds of ways. He is Virgil and Gandalf, Merlin and Hermes, our guide through what a river is or could be or should be. . . It is a stunning and necessary narrative, impossible to ignore in its urgency but also beautiful, sage, and optimistic. An absolutely crucial book for anyone who cares about either nature or beautiful writing—Robert Macfarlane has once again written a book that brings both to spectacular life."
—Rafe Posey, Third Place Books
About the Nature of Writing Series. . .
A deep appreciation for the transformative power of literature and art has been at the heart of North Cascades Institute since the very beginning. The humanities provide important lenses through which we inhabit and understand our shared landscapes. Our Nature of Writing Speaker Series celebrates the creative minds illuminating the natural world with the turn of a page.
For nearly 20 years, North Cascades Institute has worked in partnership with independent booksellers and community organizations to bring leading authors on environmental issues, natural and cultural history, poetry, art, wellness and adventure together in celebration and appreciation of nature. Past speakers have included Terry Tempest Williams, Gary Snyder, David B. Williams, Richard Louv, Peter Wohlleben, Brenda Peterson, Tim McNulty, Mary Oliver, Barry Lopez and Molly Hashimoto. By bringing our community together in conversation at these events, we aim to support authors, poets and artists and amplify their voices to promote lifelong stewardship through better understanding of the world around us.
Robert Macfarlane’s best-selling, prize-winning books include Underland, Mountains of the Mind, The Old Ways, Landmarks, and, with Jackie Morris, The Lost Words and The Lost Spells. He lives in Cambridge, England, where he is a fellow of the University of Cambridge. (Photo credit: Rosamund Macfarlane)
Want a signed edition of the featured book, but can't make it to the event? Order through our website or over the phone, and write your request for a signature or personalization in the comments field at checkout. Please call the hosting store if you're placing your order within 24 hours of the event.
Third Place Books Events Code of Conduct: Third Place Books is committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of event attendees and guest authors, during both online and in-store events. By registering for this event, you are agreeing to refrain from engaging in inappropriate behavior and harassment of any kind throughout the course of this event (i.e. racial slurs, profanity, hate speech, spam comments, etc.). Please note that any participants who engage in inappropriate behavior or harassment of any kind will be immediately ejected from the event.
For media inquiries, access inquiries, or questions about our Covid-19 policies, please email
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