My book, 1,001 VOICES ON CLIMATE CHANGE, comes out on August 24, 2021

Seven years ago, I started working on a book called 1,001 Voices on Climate Change. The book, which will be published by Simon & Schuster (Tiller Press) on August 24, 2021, features deeply-reported interviews with people who are experiencing the impacts of climate change on every continent except Antarctica.

I’ve found, in my years of collecting these stories, that personal details often move the hearts of others more than even the most dire stats and headlines. My goal is to advance the climate change conversation beyond its current stalemate.

You can pre-order 1,001 Voices on Climate Change here: http://bit.ly/1001Voices

… or ask your local library to carry a copy!

If you have any suggestions of bookstores or other venues who might be interested in doing an event together around the time of launch, please don’t hesitate to be in touch.

I’m so excited for this book to be in your hands.

Advanced Praise for 1,001 VOICES ON CLIMATE CHANGE: 

“This is a great adventure story, but also a completely necessary book—the climate crisis has reached the point where people around the world feel it, understand it, and talk about it in ways that everyone needs to hear.”

—Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature

“A hybrid of travel literature and oral history, Lockwood somehow shrinks the ungraspably vast problem of climate change down to a human scale, then, patiently, carefully, combines those individual voices into a planetary chorus. A monumental achievement.”

—Robert Moor, bestselling author of On Trails: An Exploration

“Devi Lockwood’s luminous book, 1,001 Voices on Climate Change, is a testament to the power of listening, and an amazing chance to let yourself hear the symphony of grief and of courage that plays through lives of people around the world, all trying to find their way on a relentlessly changing planet.” 

—Deborah Blum, Pulitzer-prize winning author of The Poison Squad and The Poisoner’s Handbook 

“‘Tell me a story.’ Is there a more fundamentally human sentence than that? Devi Lockwood circles the globe, seeking people’s experiences with water and climate change, from cultural myths, to rising seas’ impacts on daily life, to one woman’s pain, tuned to the voices of the trees. Lockwood seeks and you, dear reader, shall find.” 

—Erica Gies, environmental journalist, science journalist, and author of the upcoming book Water Always Wins: Going with the Flow to Thrive in an Age of Droughts, Floods, and Climate Change

“In a world that needs more listening and more storytelling, Devi Lockwood covers the waterfront. This is an empathetic and beautiful book.” 

Richard Louv, author of The Nature Principle and Our Wild Calling

“In the spirit of Arabian Nights, Lockwood summons the power of storytelling to cast a spell of empathy and understanding regarding our world’s greatest existential threat. 1,001 Voices on Climate Change takes readers on a global cycling journey, translating science into stories, to chronicle the human toll of the climate crisis.” 

—Mona Hanna-Attisha, Flint pediatrician and author of What the Eyes Don’t See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City

“This dazzling and significant collection captures the voices of people around the world, from Tuvalu to Thailand, from Australia to Kazakhstan, who are experiencing firsthand the life-altering effects of climate change. Lockwood’s approach to recounting their stories is compassionate and impassioned, focused as much on the tiny details of life as the larger planetary changes afoot in her interviewees’ own backyards. 1001 Voices on Climate Change is beautiful and necessary reading.” 

—Amy Brady, executive director of Orion

“As the fight against climate change accelerates, Devi Lockwood reminds us why.1001 Voices on Climate Change records vivid stories from those already living through the climate crisis. Lockwood takes us to every corner of the world to remind us to stop and listen. It is a compelling snapshot of this moment.” 

—Samantha Montano, Phd, Author of Disasterology: Dispatches from The Frontlines of The Climate Crisis and Assistant Professor of Emergency Management at Massachusetts Maritime Academy

“In this book, Devi illuminates the human stories the world so desperately needs. Devi’s gift is in meeting people, as they are, and pulling out the essence of their stories in such a way that speaks louder than words. It is not with spreadsheets, graphs, and technology that we will overcome the challenges of climate change, but with a transformation of our culture through story.” 

—Alina Siegfried, Author, Narrative Specialist, Spoken Word Artist, and Systems Change Advocate

“A great storyteller needs first to be a great listener, and with each pedal of her bike—up and down previously unknown paths—Devi Lockwood hears from those living through climate change and related water woes literally on the front lines. Her skills at storytelling are matched by her mastery of listening. The results are riveting.” 

—Bud Ward, Editor, Yale Climate Connections

“In this lovely, engaging book—by turns wry and heart wrenching, and always candid and warm—Devi Lockwood connects us with humanity itself as we confront the existential threat of the climate crisis. Lockwood’s book is alight with vivid characters and stories from every inhabited continent, brought together by her own compassion and curiosity. It’s a book we need now.” 

—Miranda Massie, Director, The Climate Museum

“The Power of Slow”

Hey, world! I have an essay in the September 2016 print edition of Bicycling magazine about the power of slow cycling.

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You can read the essay online here: http://www.bicycling.com/rides/adventure/the-power-of-slow

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In listening, I give the whole of myself—my ears, my heart—to a storyteller. In cycling, I give the whole of myself—my body, my spirit—to a place. I move through the landscape and the landscape moves through me. Slowness has become part of my daily practice.

Check it out!

http://www.bicycling.com/rides/adventure/the-power-of-slow

Arohanui,

Devi

“Learning to Scale Peaks From My Underprotective Mother”

Ya’ll. YA’LL.

I wrote an essay that was published yesterday for The New York Times.

It’s up on the Well Family Blog as part of a series on family relationships called Ties.

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gorgeous illustration by Gisselle Potter

Here’s the full essay:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/07/22/learning-to-scale-peaks-from-my-underprotective-mother/ 

Someone pinch me? I’ll be over here doing a happy dance.

Much love,

d

 

On the Texture of the Air

Tonight I read three poems to a room full of climate activists in Aotearoa.

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Activism is hard work. It’s exhausting.

After listening to the poems, someone told me how re-energized she felt––poetry the counterpoint to a long day of planning direct actions for the coming year.

“I was exhausted ten minutes ago,” she said. “Now I feel lightness. What a difference.”

Poetry changes the air in a room. This much I know.

Over & over I’m reminded of the importance of art in our movements, the necessary breath.

There are as many ways to be an activist as there are people on this planet. There is value in standing with a cardboard sign in the streets. There is value in being loud––many voices speaking for a single cause. So much planning goes into a single march. I have deep respect for that work.

There is value, too, in sitting down in a silent room with a pen and a piece of paper, the quietness of writing, of meeting oneself on the page without knowing what will come next.

I move through both worlds in my activism. The one doesn’t exist for me without the other.

& there is always more to do.

I’m Teaching Two Classes!

Hey world! I’m teaching two week-long online writing classes in March for 24 Pearl Street, the online branch of the Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center.

It was a huge honor to be offered this position.

One course is on deep listening: http://web.fawc.org/24-pearl-street/tell-me-story-power-deep-listening

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The other is on tangible things & how our bodies interact with space: http://web.fawc.org/24-pearl-street/tangible-things-object-based-storytelling

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Both are poetry / non-fiction hybrid courses. I had a lot of fun dreaming up the syllabi and am confident that they will be two transformational weeks. Come join!

You can view the full list of the courses that 24 Pearl Street offers here: http://web.fawc.org/24-pearl-street/workshops

Big love from the Whanganui River,

bikemewhanganui

Rhythm (yes, again)

I have written about rhythm before.

Silence is rhythmic architecture — the places where we build things. Silence is beautiful.

I’m wrestling with a 50,000 word beast and crafting a letter to send to literary agents, yes, but my days in this river town are bookended by sweat: rowing and boxing.

I like working hard and punching the pads of my kick-ass boxing buddy and gliding on the misty morning river. I like it a whole lot.

The sound of my gloves colliding with her pads or her gloves colliding with my pads is not unlike a firework.

This year on New Year’s Eve I embraced my inner nannaish tendencies. I did not go out. I made myself an elaborate meal of veggies dipped in hummus. I wrote three letters to friends back home while listening to episodes of On Being. At midnight I played guitar for no one but myself. I sat on the porch and listened to the sounds of fireworks going off all around. It was a night I loved for its stillness––an evening so still I could see my own reflection.

A few days ago I made a list of things I love. Because, hey, it’s beautiful to be alive. Also, pesto. Nuff said.

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While I was writing this list, the sky was being itself. I love watching the sunset from a porch. Every minute, every moment, was brand new.

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It’s beautiful to be staying still. It’s beautiful to be writing and to be getting those words out into the world.

Three more things happened today:

  1. The piece I wrote for Harvard Magazine went live: http://harvardmagazine.com/2016/01/listening-as-activism

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2. I went live on the air with ABC Darwin (National Radio in Australia) to reflect on the past year & the unfolding mysteries of 2016:

https://soundcloud.com/1057darwin/an-inspiring-2015-the-adventures-of-devi-lockwood 

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Public radio is an intensely intimate experience. I love that about it.

3. I made my favorite recipe in the whole world, Carrot Pie from Mollie Katzen’s Enchanted Broccoli Forest––domestic bliss for this little touring cyclist that could.

carrot pie recipe // nut crust recipe

There’s magic in stillness, ya’ll.

And eating is a way of knowing. Listening is a way of knowing. Loving is a kind of surrender.

There is rhythm in motion and there is rhythm in staying still.

So glad to be here on this journey with you. The year is off to a whirlwind of a crazy-gorgeous start.

Love to you,

Devi

 

 

 

Words in Places: BuzzFeed & CityLab

HEY WORLD:

I wrote this personal essay for BuzzFeed. More than 38,000 people have read it so far. Holy guacamole.

This is one of those stories that feels vulnerable to share — but I’m embracing that. Hello, vulnerability. I see you.

Here goes:

“Breaking Up With Both A Person And A Place” 

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Check the bottom left — the story was promoted to the front page!

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IN OTHER NEWS:

It’s a big day on the internet for this little touring cyclist that could. CityLab, a division of The Atlantic, wrote about my journey:

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You can read the full story here:

http://www.citylab.com/navigator/2015/12/water-climate-change-cycling-stories/422076/ 

I like writing things.

I like the reconnection that happens with so many of you when I write something.

It’s kind of magic, really.

Just want to say that if you’re reading this, I’m grateful for you —
thanks for being here. It’s been a wild ride of a year.

2015 was the year of the bike.
2016 will be the year of words. Getting them out into the world,

because that is what I’m here to do.

Happy Holidays!

dkl

Beautiful people of the Internet,

Sending big love your way from a river town in New Zealand where I am hunkered down for a few months to work on writing a book proposal.

It’s slow going and there are lots of little projects to get out of the way before the nitty gritty book proposal production happens HOWEVER — I am in good company.

I’m housesitting for an ex-Buddhist nun and her petulant cat, Dostoyevsky. I’m blasting Amy Winehouse’s album Frank. It’s the time of night when the sky turns indigo. I’m getting back into the swing of rowing and have been invited to race early on in January. I’m going to spend xmas with one of my favorite families on this island. Strawberries are in season and I’m eating them by the handful. I celebrated the solstice in the company of friends. I ate carrot cake in the shape of the sun. I chased kids around a paddock. The sky was sherbet. My hair smells like woodsmoke.

This time six months ago I welcomed the shortest day of the year in Australia. I gave my friend an asymmetrical haircut, communed with some sassy chickens, rode a penny farthing, learned how to drive a stick shift, and drove this here fine manual truck over a mountain, through lots of muddy puddles, OVER A TREE, and to a waterfall.

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I stalled my parents’ car so many times when I was learning to drive a stick that I thought this day would never come!

Australian mud is red & good.

Safe to say: that winter solstice was one of the butchest days of my life, and also pretty darn wonderful.

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solstice sunset in Canberra, Australia — June 2015

This time last year I was in Tuvalu, finding the groove of living on a small island, and about to celebrate a very Tuvaluan Christmas.

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Tuvalu Blue (Funafuti) — December 2014 

In other news:

I have an article that TERRIFIES ME TO SHARE (embrace the vulnerability, yep) coming out between xmas and new years,

— you guys you guys it’s for Buzzfeed! More on that soon —

… plus a photo feature on the way for a digital mag. Ohhhhhhgoodness get to work Devi, there are deadlines to meet!

So many things make my heart sing.

Merry, merry.

This has been the year of the bike.

Hugs to you and yours.

xo

P.S. Sign up for my email list, you know you wanna: http://eepurl.com/bKRzKH

P.P.S. If you want to make all my holiday wishes come true, here’s my Patreon:  http://patreon.com/devi_lockwood