Writing eco-fiction: Jamiee Wriston Colbert to give Harpur Dean’s Distinguished Lecture

The call of the Palila bird, bright as its sunny-gold plumage, once foretold the coming rain. But as the māmane groves disappeared, so has this species of honeycreeper. Today, it’s one of the rarest birds in the world, existing only on the upper slopes of Hawaii’s Mount Kauna.

Binghamton University Professor of English, General Literature and Rhetoric Jaimee Wriston Colbert, who grew up in Honolulu, became enchanted by the birds as a child. Years later, while doing research for her novels, she discovered a heartbreaking fact: out of 56 different species of honeycreeper native to the islands, only 18 are left. The others have joined the lengthening list of plant and animal species disappearing around the world.

Colbert will deliver the 2020-21 Harpur Dean’s Distinguished Lecture on “Flight of the Palila: From Passion to Eco-fiction, One Writer’s Process,” at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 24, via Zoom.

Her lecture, which is free and open to the public, will define eco-fiction and discuss her process as a writer who engages with the environment in her work. During the second half of the event, she will read excerpts from her story “Wild Things,” which features the Palila.

For more information and to register, visit the web.

“Professor Wriston Colbert is a pioneer of the genre of eco-fiction and the author of six award-winning books,” said interim Dean of Harpur College Celia Klin. “She is also one of the creative leaders in the college and has served as a dedicated mentor to students in Harpur’s Creative Writing Program.”

Co-sponsored by the Binghamton Chapter of United University Professions, the Harpur Dean’s Distinguished Lecture was established in 1998 to feature the exemplary research, scholarship and creative work conducted across the college’s disciplines. The annual lecture also provides an opportunity for faculty members to address an audience of their peers and students, as well as the wider local community.