Dear Human at the Edge of Time

SAN MATEO, Calif. - Aug. 30, 2023 - PRLog -- Paloma Press is pleased to announce the launch of the climate change anthology, Dear Human at the Edge of Time: Poems on Climate Change in the United States, a companion to the congressionally mandated Fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA5).

Edited by Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellows Luisa A. Igloria & Aileen Cassinetto and Fifth National Climate Assessment Chapter Lead Dr. Jeremy S. Hoffman, the anthology's 70+ contributors include Union of Concerned Scientists Director of Strategic Climate Analytics Erika Spanger and U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón, with a Foreword by Claire Wahmanholm and Afterword by Dr. Sam Illingworth.

California State Senator and Chair of the Senate Budget Subcommittee on Resources, Environmental Protection and Energy Josh Becker notes, "I'm so proud of former San Mateo County Poet Laureate Aileen Cassinetto, Dr. Luisa A. Igloria and Dr. Jeremy S. Hoffman's anthology, Dear Human at the Edge of Time. Our climate crisis is the foremost issue in our world right now, and while we still have time to save ourselves, that time is waning. The poetry in this book is as complex as our world, but it offers hope for a better tomorrow."

Dr. Edward Maibach, Distinguished University Professor & Director at the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication, adds, "Focusing on climate change—as I have done for nearly two decades—has a terrifying way of accelerating time. Like a quiet walk in the woods, these poems coaxed time to slow down for me, and occasionally stand still. That stillness created space in which to see further and more broadly. I'm grateful to these poets for having spoken so deeply to me, and to time."

The anthology, which grew out of the National Poets Laureate civic projects, was made possible with support from the San Mateo County Office of Arts and Culture and the Academy of American Poets' laureate initiative, with promotional support from the National Climate Assessment Staff. Dear Human at the Edge of Time is offered as an opportunity to participate in the urgent conversations on climate justice alongside regional and topic-specific published research.

Several book events are planned into Spring 2024, including a virtual book launch on August 31st, hosted by the South San Francisco Public Library and co-sponsored by the Institute for Coastal Adaptation & Resilience and the Academy of American Poets, https://palomapress.org/2023/08/08/virtual-dear-human-boo..., and an in-person launch on September 30th, sponsored by the Clarion Performing Arts Center and Poets & Writers Inc., https://www.theclarionsf.org/events/dear-human-at-the-edg...