andrew mobbs on environmental stewardship

This year, we braved wildfires, hurricanes, and floods to bring you the best environmental short fiction, nonfiction, and poetry writers today as part of our climate change contest (which you can access here).

I interviewed Honorable Mention winner and poet Andrew Mobbs about his poem “Haunted Timber,” a poem redacted from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s article on “Ghost Trees.” You can read Andrew’s poem here below and here.

Andrew Mobbs is the author of chapbook Strangers and Pilgrims (Six Gallery Press, 2013) and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. His work has been published in New Delta Review, Frontier Poetry, Bayou Magazine, among others. He is the co-founder of Nude Bruce Review and is currently pursuing his MFA at Oregon State University.

Caylee Weintraub: What was the inspiration behind the piece you submitted to our climate change contest?

Andrew Mobbs: "Haunted Timber" is the first of a series of climate change-centric erasures I wrote over the summer. The consequences of climate change and the need for immediate action and strategies for adaptation constantly pierce my thoughts. I also think about the importance of science communication in helping laypeople like me more fully grasp the exigence of climate change in order to act more quickly. To this end, "Haunted Timber" and its counterparts strip away denser bureaucratic language from both federal and NGO websites to waylay the reader with the truth: hard times are ahead for our planet without collective intervention and cooperation.

To this end, "Haunted Timber" and its counterparts strip away denser bureaucratic language from both federal and NGO websites to waylay the reader with the truth: hard times are ahead for our planet without collective intervention and cooperation.

CW: Who are some authors you admire? What works of theirs do you draw from in your own writing process?

AM: I'm pleased to say that I admire many authors. Some who immediately come to mind are Mary Oliver (Owls and Other Fantasies: Poems and Essays), Karen Holmberg (Axis Mundi), Garrett Hongo (The River of Heaven), and Natalie Diaz (When My Brother was an Aztec).

CW: Are you often drawn to environmental themes?

AM: Environmental themes are inextricable from my writing. Like the late Mary Oliver and countless others, I try to appreciate the beauty and majesty of nature in general and through my words. Being a descriptive poet, I love how nature and the environment are lush with possibilities for writing material. Also, writing with environmental concern (as one of my poetry mentors put it) helps me remain accountable as a global citizen whose life is at stake.

…writing with environmental concern (as one of my poetry mentors put it) helps me remain accountable as a global citizen whose life is at stake.

CW: What can writing do to help prevent climate change and other environmental issues? Is there a particular piece of environmental writing that showed you the power of writing for the environment?

AM: I believe that writing can do several things in the name of addressing and combating climate change. As I just mentioned, compelling writing can help people care more and hold themselves accountable in terms of environmental sustainability. It can also educate others far removed from certain geographical environments to inspire compassion and a desire to support at-risk populations. For example, having resided in mostly landlocked places, I didn't recognize the severity of the threat of rising sea levels until I read Elizabeth Rush's Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore a few years ago. From this book, I learned just how ocean water breaching our coastlines will poison plants and forests with salt and force the migration of people and animals whose habitats will be rendered uninhabitable. Devastating as this reality is, Rush has done a diligent job of raising awareness of the vulnerability of coastal communities and cultures and the need to plan and adapt. I'm grateful to the tiny journal for this opportunity, and that I hope our wonderful readers join us in being the best environmental stewards as we can.

…compelling writing can help people care more and hold themselves accountable in terms of environmental sustainability.