Wildness Unafraid

Comprised of lyrical, compelling poems, Wildness Unafraid honors and explores the beauty of nature, while investigating our complex, tenuous relationship to the more-than-human world. In doing so, Tim Murphy imagines if we not only viewed plants and animals as worthy of our admiration, but worthy of protection from the parts of ourselves that endanger them. This is a timely, needed book in the age of climate crisis. In Wildness Unafraid, Tim Murphy sows seeds that will grow in those souls who listen ... and in the winds beyond reach of human ways. Murphy offers lessons on being wholly present and connected to the edge of the water, the hunt of the heron, the critique of crows, the anxiety of squirrels, and the relationship geese maintain with the sky. He doesn't write about nature, he writes for nature, and that is the difference that makes his work worth reading. -Maragaret Noodin, Professor of English and American Indian studies, the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, and Author, What the Chickadee Knows Tim Murphy's poems are thoughtful meditations on the wisdoms and beauties of the natural world, "of the many lives beyond our own / always unfolding, always near." Probing at any false ideals of colonial human superiority, of the ableism many humans cling to, and expanding on the complexities of the non-human with a quiet, measured touch - as the reader spends slow time with Murphy's verse, "a knowing grows." -Khairani Barokka, Author, Ultimatum Orangutan and Indigenous Species Tim Murphy's poems occupy the quiet places within our lives - the crows that "nose through our trash," the crickets' call that "reminds us we're not alone." In this collection, Murphy pursues the multitude of connection points between the more-than-human world and our twenty-first century artifices. "I think of the many / cages we forge / from beauty / that ensnare / more than just us." These poems show the author's deep appreciation for our humanity, even in an era of environmental crisis. -Aaron Lelito, Editor in Chief, Wild Roof Journal