Terry Tempest Williams, a noted naturalist, spoke about the influence of nature in everyone's life, in front of a packed crowd in 105 Dartmouth Hall last night.
Williams' speech, titled "The Unspoken Hunger," explored the interaction between her personal life and nature.
Much of the speech consisted of Williams reading from her books "Desert Quartet" and "An Unspoken Hunger," and her latest book, "Family Construction."
Williams, naturalist-in-residence at the Utah Museum of Natural History, began by speaking about the past two days she has spent at Dartmouth. "I listened to [the students'] concern about the land and they spoke about the beauty of the winters here and how it is like living in a poem," Williams said.
She thanked Dartmouth students for their help in fighting to save the Utah wilderness via a website on the Internet.
Williams noted it is not just environmental concerns that bring people together, but also a basic common bond.
"I find great hope and faith in so many people being touched by nature," Williams said.
Williams spoke of people having one bond to unite them no matter what their interests might be.
"We are all proud people, beauty is not optional and there is a price to preserving that beauty," she said.
She also spoke about her travels and the people she has met. In particular, she remembered one comment that opened her eyes. "You Americans have mastered the art of living with the unacceptable," Williams said she was told while traveling abroad.
Williams also emphasized getting back to basics in order to get better in touch with nature and therefore ourselves.
Some suggestions she had were "staying put, slowing down, learning the names of things and listening, this is the best and true science."
The passages that Williams read from her books recalled moments from her past. Many scenes related instances of walking and climbing through canyons in Utah, where she grew up.
She said a major influence on her life is water. All living things, even frogs, come from water, Williams said. "The water is like jazz, I too am free to improvise," she continued.
Eliciting tears from the audience, Williams read about the death of her uncle, Alan.
"He showed us that appearances didn't matter, personalities did," Williams said.
Williams said too many societies see people for what they are not as opposed to what they are. This portion of the speech brought many members of the audience to tears.
Jane Bartlett, a Hanover resident said after hearing Williams, "The speech was very moving, almost like a religious experience."
The speech was sponsored by the Environmental Studies Program at Dartmouth and was part of the George Link, Jr. Environmental Lecture, which is presented once a year.
