Master chroniclers of the West, Greg Sarris and Obi Kaufmann have penned some of our favorite texts of and about California. In Place and Purpose, a monthly video podcast series, these two pioneering thinkers have launched a project that tackles the deepest questions about the lands we inhabit, our challenges as a society, and the possibilities of our collective future. In this special Alta Live, we’ll turn the table on these talented hosts and ask them the big questions about their work, their passion for the Golden State’s holistic history, and what we can learn about our future from our past.
About the guests:
Greg Sarris is currently serving his 15th term as chairman of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, his tribe which was formerly known as the Federated Coast Miwok. Sarris holds a PhD in modern thought and literature from Stanford and worked as a full professor of English at UCLA, teaching American and Native American literature, and creative writing from 1989 until 2001. The author of many books, including Keeping Slug Woman Alive: A Holistic Approach to American Indian Texts (University of California Press, 1993), Grand Avenue (Hyperion, 1994—Sarris’s highly acclaimed and awarded collection of short stories that was adapted for an HBO miniseries of the same name, co-executive produced by Robert Redford), and Watermelon Nights (Hyperion, 1999), Sarris’s most recent books include the award-winning How a Mountain Was Made (Heyday, 2017) and Becoming Story, a Journey Among Seasons, Places Trees, and Ancestors (Heyday, 2022). Sarris now lives and works in his beloved Sonoma County.
Obi Kaufmann is known for his Field Atlas series of books that present the natural world from a unique, multidisciplinary perspective, boldly blending science and art to explore and present a broad and deep understanding of California’s ecological philosophy. His bestselling and award-winning books include The California Field Atlas (Heyday, 2017), The State of Water: Understanding California’s Most Precious Resource (Heyday, 2019), The Forests of California: A California Field Atlas, California’s Lands Trilogy, Vol.1 (Heyday, 2020), and The Coasts of California: A California Field Atlas, California Lands Trilogy, Vol. 2 (Heyday, 2022). He is currently working on his next book, The Deserts of California: A California Field Atlas, California Lands Trilogy, Vol. 3 (Heyday, 2023), and then his final book in the series, The State of Fire: Understanding How, Where and Why California Burns, will round out the collection. When he is not backpacking, you can find the painter-poet at home in the East Bay tucked in the shadow of his beloved Mount Diablo.
About the podcast:
In this groundbreaking video podcast, now in its second season, Greg Sarris and Obi Kaufmann, two esteemed chroniclers of California’s ancient wonder, explore the deepest questions of hope, culture, beauty, justice, time, and ecology. Recorded and broadcast live once per month, the themes of the series revolve around the passing seasons and reflect on whether or not so many patterns of the past are unraveling in the wake of a fast-changing world. Recognizing that we live in a society that seems as challenged to remember the things it should as it is to let go of the things that no longer serve, Place and Purpose considers the greatest challenges and opportunities of our day. Sarris, Kaufmann, and an eclectic mix of guests engage in this search for meaning from the premise that the remedy to these conundrums exists inside the wisdom of the ancestors and that our collective recovery is written across the land and lives inside the stories that are still to be told. Visit placeandpurpose.live for more info.•
