Tag Archives: Wildfires

Life Imitating Art, But Softly: Russian Meteor a Mini-Version of the Fireball That Ends Civilization in Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"

Posted on February 16, 2013 by williamjcobb

So I’ve been teaching Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian (1985) for the last two weeks, although the more I know about the novel, the more I’m struck that it needs an entire semester to cover thoroughly—though if I did that, I … Continue reading →

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While Reading Melanie Challenger's "On Extinction," Life in "The Other Season"

Posted on December 3, 2012 by williamjcobb

So I’ve begun reading Melanie Challenger’s On Extinction, to review for the Dallas Morning News, a timely book when Climate Change is panting its hot breath down our neck like an oily wolf: the weather has been so warm this … Continue reading →

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Lewis & Clark's Lolo Pass Campsite, 207 years later

Posted on September 17, 2012 by williamjcobb

So I’m traveling in Montana just now, and visited Lolo Pass and the Glade Creek campsite of the Lewis & Clark “Corps of Discovery” almost exactly 207 years after they were there (they passed through on September 13th, 1805, and … Continue reading →

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"The Bird Saviors" Imagines Another Dust Bowl: Could This Happen Again?

Posted on July 10, 2012 by williamjcobb

So one of the tricks of writing a novel set in the “near future” is that whatever reality you come up with should be relevant, conceivable, and interesting, and of course I hope I’ve pulled that off in my new … Continue reading →

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Fireworks for Summer People: A Tale of Summer Mayhem

Posted on July 6, 2012 by williamjcobb

So seeing as we’re living through the worst wildfire season in Colorado history, our annual fireworks show in the town of Westcliffe was canceled due to a Stage 2 fire ban. I missed it. As a kid, fireworks were a … Continue reading →

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Reading "The Southwestern Journals of Zebulon Pike: 1806-7": A Vision of Colorado Springs Before It Was Afire, Plus "The Bird Saviors" Appears on KRCC, Colorado Springs Radio

Posted on July 1, 2012 by williamjcobb

So after returning from another trip to Santa Fe, I’m now reading “The Southwestern Journals of Zebulon Pike: 1806-7,” which recounts an expedition to explore the Arkansas River boundary of the Louisiana Purchase—otherwise known as a Poor Man’s Lewis & … Continue reading →

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Fires, Plagues of Locusts, and Chiggers: Signs of the Apocalypse in Colorado, Or Is That Global Warming in Your Pocket?

Posted on June 27, 2012 by williamjcobb

So I believe in the biblical apocalypse as much as I do the Tooth Fairy, but replace the word “apocalypse” with “global warming” and we’re onto something real. The back roads of Custer County, Colorado are now covered with swarms … Continue reading →

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Fires in the West a Sign of Things To Come: Prophecies in "The Bird Saviors" Coming True, Unfortunately

Posted on June 27, 2012 by williamjcobb

So my novel The Bird Saviors is set in the “near future,” which I always thought to be something like five to ten years from now, but some of the calamities forecast in the story are unfolding right now—particularly an … Continue reading →

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Reading Stephen Graham Jones's "Growing Up Dead in Texas," While Colorado Burns, Plus an Interview on ShelfLife@Texas

Posted on June 21, 2012 by williamjcobb

So I’m reading Stephen Graham Jones’s new novel, Growing Up Dead in Texas, which has a wicked description of a cotton-bale fire in West Texas. It’s a bit eerie to read right now, as I’m in Colorado, which seems to … Continue reading →

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