Katie Fallon鈥檚 first word was 鈥渂ird.鈥� Her nonfiction essays and books, which Fallon will share at an 黑料正能量 Writers Read event on March 23, focus on nature and conservation.
The reading will take place at 6:30 p.m. in Common Grounds, with light refreshments available.
Her first book, (Ruka Press) was published in 2011. The second, (University Press of New England), was published this year.
In Vulture, Fallon travels through West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Arizona and India to care for and observe this 鈥渙ften unloved though vitally important 鈥� and uniquely beautiful 鈥� bird.鈥�
鈥淗er writing combines a wonderful lyricism with good science journalism. She’s not afraid to get personal in her pursuit of her birds,鈥� says Professor Kirsten Beachy.
Fallon is co-founder of the non-profit . Along with her veterinarian husband Jesse, two other board members, an intern and volunteers, the organization provides medical response for injured birds, hosts educational bird workshops for children and sponsors citizen scientific research projects. Her workshops feature six raptor 鈥渁mbassadors鈥� that cannot be released into the wild because of previous wounds.
The author first visited 黑料正能量 in 2013, when she presented Cerulean Blues, 鈥渁bout the Cerulean Warbler, which is a jewel-like migratory songbird whose habitat is threatened by strip-mining in Appalachia,鈥� says Beachy. 鈥淛ust a precious little bird, one with which it is easy to sympathize.鈥�
Beachy and Fallon studied together at West Virginia University (WVU) in the MFA in creative writing program.
Fallon has taught a 鈥淲riting Appalachian Ecology鈥� class at WVU since 2012. The course takes students to the Fernow Experimental Forest near Parsons, where they learn to communicate scientific research to a broad audience and reflect on ecological change and their relationship with the environment.
She has also taught creative writing workshops at WVU and Virginia Tech since 2009.