Author Hank Lentfer reads aloud from his Coda about how the connectedness of neurons in the brain is a metaphor for the connectedness between people and just about everything else.

Author Luis Alberto Urrea reads his latest Wastelander column—“Barrio Walden”—about his attempts to find Walden Pond as a young student from the barrios of Southern California freshly relocated to New England.

Author Luis Urrea reads his latest Wastelander column—“Ghosts of America”—about hanging out with live phantoms in the shadow of the new Dust Bowl.

Author Glenis Redmond reads aloud from her poetic essay for Orion—“What Hangs on Trees”—about her struggle with memory and legacy in her southern homeland.

Author James MacKinnon reads aloud from his latest essay for Orion — “False Idyll” — about the need to view nature for what it is versus through rose-colored glasses.