Of Woods & Waters

“An insightful and varied view of Kentucky’s lush landscape. . . . [Will] appeal to hunters, anglers, environmentalists.” —Kentucky Monthly

From the moment Daniel Boone first “gained the summit of a commanding ridge, and . . . beheld the ample plains, the beauteous tracts below,” generations of Kentuckians have developed rich and enduring relationships with the land that surrounds them. Of Woods & Waters: A Kentucky Outdoors Reader is filled with loving tributes offered in celebration of Kentucky’s widely varied environmental wonders that nurture both life and art.

Ron Ellis, an outdoors enthusiast and noted writer, has gathered art, fiction, personal essays and poetry from many of Kentucky’s best-known authors for this comprehensive collection. Beginning with famed illustrator John James Audubon’s eloquent account of extracting catfish from the Ohio River and progressing through over fifty contributions by both established and emerging writers, Of Woods & Water covering two hundred years of hunting, fishing, camping, cooking, hiking, and canoeing in Kentucky’s wilderness.

With contributions from Barbara Kingsolver, Wendell Berry, Janice Holt Giles, Bobbie Ann Mason, Jesse Stuart, James Still, Robert Penn Warren, James Baker Hall, Silas House, and other esteemed authors.

“No other state offers such a variety of topics for its writers and this [anthology], which incorporates love of the land and the love of nature, is special.” —James C. Claypool, Northern Kentucky University, author of Our Fellow Kentuckians

“Takes your mind outside. Read enough of it and you might get out of the chair and follow.” —Lexington Herald-Leader

“A superb collection.” —Louisville Courier-Journal

“Reading Of Woods & Waters is a sensory experience. Its fine, down-home musings stay with you long after the last page is turned.” —Murray Ledger and Times