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The Overstory is a Pulitzer Prize winning novel that had quite a meaningful and moving impact on this week’s guest: the writer, naturalist and limnologist, Nina Munteanu.
Nina considers herself an environmental activist and ecologist, and much of her fiction is written in a sub-genre of SF: eco-fiction. She’s also a lover of irony, which is one of the reasons she loves the novel so much.
Each character in the novel is either an avatar of a tree, or perhaps, the trees are the main characters and the people simply represent them. “What Powers does is very powerful, in that he keeps it real.”
The novel deals with issues of deforestation, ecological collapse, and the extinction of some large trees.
In this engrossing conversation, Joe and Mark learn some new ecological terms, such as the “duff” – the litter, or the the decaying vegetation on the forest floor, underneath the overstory. (Also, limnology, the study of waters found within continents.)
By the end of this conversation you will want to read The Overstory – and Nina’s work!
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Nina Munteanu is a Canadian ecologist and internationally published novelist of science fiction and fantasy.
In addition to eight published novels, Nina has written award-nominated short stories, articles and non-fiction books, which have been translated into several languages throughout the world. Recognition for her work includes the Midwest Book Review Reader’s Choice Award, finalist for Foreword Magazine’s Book of the Year Award, the SLF Fountain Award, and The Delta Optimist Reviewers Choice.
Her latest work is A Diary in the Age of Water, which is an eco-fiction that follows the climate-induced journey of humanity through four generations of women with a unique relationship with water.
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