The Friends of the Libraries are pleased to host author, artist, and environmental activist James Prosek for the 2013 Paula U. Hamburger Lecture on Thursday, March 28. His talk “The Taxonomist’s Dilemma: Or, What’s in a Name?” will explore the role that names and naming play in how we perceive nature and the natural world.

The event starts with a reception and book signing at 6 pm in Mason Hall; admission is free. RSVP to libraryfriends@jhu.edu.

Parrotfish, courtesy of James Prosek.

Prosek, called “the Audubon of fish” by the New York Times, is the author of 11 books and numerous articles on nature. His most recently published work, Ocean Fishes (2012), is a collection of his water colors of fish from the world’s oceans. His book on eels was a New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice for 2011 and formed the basis for next month’s PBS Nature special “The Mystery of Eels.”

In addition to his work as an author and artist, Prosek is a noted environmentalist and the cofounder of the World Trout Initiative. NPR discussed one of his early novels, The Day My Mother Left, as part of its Backseat Book Club in February, and the Nature Conservancy has a feature on Prosek’s work and the intersection of art and conservation.

 


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