Author to visit Yuma for book discussion
March 4, 2024Yuma, AZ (March 4, 2024) – The community is invited to join One Book Yuma author Melissa L. Sevigny for a discussion on her nonfiction book, Brave the Wild River: The Untold Story of Two Women Who Mapped the Botany of The Grand Canyon.
Brave the Wild River vividly portrays the journey of botanists Elzada Clover and Lois Jotter as they explore the Grand Canyon in 1938. Their expedition, led by an inexperienced leader and accompanied by three amateur boatmen, demonstrates boundless curiosity and determination. They aim to study the diverse plant life in this remote part of the American West. The Colorado River is the world's most perilous river, facing challenges such as snowmelt surges, muddy landslides, whirlpools, and treacherous waves. At that time, surviving a boat journey through the Grand Canyon was an achievement few men—and no women—had accomplished.
Sevigny will visit Yuma on Thursday, March 21, to lead two community discussions:
• 2:00-3:00pm, Arizona Western College - MAC Lecture Hall #106, 2020 S. Avenue 8E
• 6:00-7:00pm, Yuma Main Library - 1st Floor Meeting Rooms, 2951 S. 21st Drive
The community discussions will be followed by Q&A sessions and book signings. Both events are free and open to the public. This is intended to be a community-wide reading event. Get your copy of Brave the Wild River at your local library or check out an ebook or audiobook version from Libby Overdrive.
Sevigny grew up in Tucson, Arizona where she fell in love with the Sonoran Desert’s ecology, geology, and dark desert skies. Her lyrical nonfiction explores the intersections of science, nature, and history, with a focus on the American Southwest. She earned a B.S. in Environmental Science & Policy from the University of Arizona and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing and Environment from Iowa State University.
Her work has been supported by grants from the Ellen Meloy Fund for Desert Writers and the Arizona Commission on the Arts, and honored with numerous awards. She’s currently the science reporter at KNAU (Arizona Public Radio) in Flagstaff, Arizona. Her radio stories have aired nationally on NPR, been featured on Science Friday, and received regional Edward R. Murrow Awards for excellence.
One Book Yuma is brought to you by the AWC/NAU-Yuma Academic Library, Yuma County Library District, Newspapers in Education, and the Yuma Sun.
Contact:
Angela Creel
Director of Library Services
Arizona Western College
Angie.Creel@azwestern.edu
928-344-7776
Contact:
Aimee Quinn
NAU-Yuma Campus Librarian
Northern Arizona University
Aimee.Quinn@nau.edu
928-317-9528