Welcome!
About This Collection
First things first, I hope you enjoy what this collection has to offer. And yes, it truly is a collection more than it is a blog. The majority of these pieces were written in other times, with other keys or graphite-smudged fingers, and many of their words were never initially intended for anyone, save a blank page.
You’ll find that most revolve around some central concepts: nature / ecology; senses of place / culture; human – human / human – land / human – non-human relationships; and memory / nostalgia / time. These are just a few themes that fascinate, inspire, and challenge me.
The pieces themselves, then, are grouped up top into four categories: Essays, Poetry, Prose, and Journalism. They’re collections, but not at all dusty relics on a shelf. I’ll be adding new work as I write it!
And finally… For four months (January – May 2020), I had planned to be somewhere new entirely: Senegal! To my dismay, the COVID-19 pandemic forced an early return in mid-March. However, I was so fortunate to be wrapped up for two months in an incredible study abroad opportunity, which spawned many things: some good writing, nice pictures, wonderful food, but most importantly, once-in-a-lifetime perspectives + connections. As a record of my time there, I posted what I could, when I could in the Senegal page above. I’d love it if you followed along.
Featured Work
About Me
I used to tell everyone who suggested — from high school teachers to my author mother to my English-teaching grandmother — that there was no way I’d ever enjoy writing as a hobby. To their told-you-so delight, and the ire of my younger stubbornness… that’s changed.
Writing has become a go-to means to both process and crystallize my formal education, positions of leadership, relationships, environmental perspectives, wilderness expeditions, other travel experiences, day-to-day monotony (and excitement), and nature of personal growth + change over time.
I’ve been fortunate to have my work published by organizations such as Resilience.org (as a featured author), Overstory Alliance, the Institute for the Study of Energy and Our Future, the Millennium Alliance for Humanity and the Biosphere, the Campaign to Save the Boundary Waters, PressAfrik, Wilderness Inquiry, and Friends of the Mississippi River.
When I’m not messing around with words, you can probably find me playing music, sports, cooking, reading, climbing rocks + trees + occasionally more dangerous things (see those person-shaped specks at the top of that Utah arch?), or finding any reason to be inside or out with friends + family.
College may or may not be the best time of your life, but it certainly is one of the purely craziest for growth, reflection, and opportunity. I’m a 2021 graduate — BA in Global Studies, minor in French Studies — of the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, though a borne-and-bred Wisconsinite (go Packers!).
Basically, thanks for coming along for the ride. I couldn’t tell you where this writing thing will lead, but for now I’m just happy to fill this little carving of the internet with some of it.
Jake Marble 