Powell's Presents: Justin Hocking in Conversation With Emily Kendal Frey

Justin Hocking, author of The Great Floodgates of the Wonderworld, grew up in a part of Colorado where so many things happened beneath the surface — mining exploits, underground nuclear testing just thirty miles from his family’s home, and geothermal activity that heats one of the world’s largest hot spring pools. His homelife, too, was plagued by hidden patterns of abuse and virulent masculinity. A Field Guide to the Subterranean (Counterpoint) charts the author’s lifelong process of unearthing the past and reclaiming his own identity and connection to the natural world. How might we transform our traumas into deeper care for one another and the landscapes that sustain us? How do we transcend the mythos of the rugged American male so rooted in extraction and exploitation? And how far can we move beyond the self in a memoir? Hocking explores these and other vital questions by combining personal introspection with expansive narratives that examine geology, ecology, gender theory, mining history, labor rights, and even skateboarding. Abundant with historical research and teeming with birdlife — and ranging in location from remote caves and mountains to secluded surf breaks in Costa Rica — A Field Guide to the Subterranean heralds a boldly original and kaleidoscopic approach to the genres of memoir and nature writing. Hocking will be joined in conversation by Emily Kendal Frey, author of Lovability.

Buy the book: https://www.powells.com/events/justin-hocking-in-conversation-with-emily-kendal-frey-6-12-25

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• This Saturday, 14th June, 10:30 am, Powell's Presents: Kids' Storytime With Suzanne Kaufman & Zoey Abbott in Portland
• Next Monday, 16th June, 07:00 pm, Powell's Presents: Yrsa Daley-Ward in Conversation With Lydia Kiesling in Portland
• Next Tuesday, 17th June, 07:00 pm, Powell's Presents: Coll Thrush in Conversation With Catherine McNeur in Beaverton

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