Jeffrey A. Lockwood (Artist-in-Residence, 2012)

The Dassler Cabin sits hidden amongst trees while its nearby smaller Guest House perches on the shoreline. Viewed from Scoville Point across a bay.
The prominent Guest House next to the hidden Dassler Cabin

NPS Photo

Isle Royale Reflection

"Coming to the Isle Royale National Park from the high plains of Wyoming is something of an ecological shock (not so much a cultural shock, as both places are pleasantly unpopulated). Moreover, living in a century-old cabin without running water (an unexpected virtue in providing a daily lesson on the value of water in the midst of a devastating drought across this region) perched on a rocky point overlooking Lake Superior (where there is more water than in every stream, river, pond, lake and reservoir of the Rocky Mountains) requires a change of pace and perspective. Having been given the gift of 16 days on Isle Royale, it seemed appropriate to craft a daily reflection about this place. What follows are 16, 16-word pieces that reveal slices of a life, both prosaic and profound."

 
Jeffrey Lockwood Portrait
Jeff

About the Artist

Jeff Lockwood was an Isle Royale Artist-in-Residence from August 10th to August 25th, 2012. He was born in Connecticut and grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He earned a B.S. in biology from New Mexico Tech and a Ph.D. in entomology from Louisiana State University. He worked for 17 years as an insect ecologist at the University of Wyoming, publishing more than 150 scientific papers and pioneering a method of integrated pest management for rangeland grasshoppers that is now used across the western United States.

In 2003, he metamorphosed into a Professor of Natural Sciences & Humanities in the department of philosophy (where he teaches environmental ethics and philosophy of ecology) and in the program in creative writing (where he was the director and teaches workshops in non-fiction). His writing has been honored with a Pushcart Prize, the John Burroughs award, IBPA Silver Medal, inclusion in the Best American Science and Nature Writing, and a silver medal from the Independent Book Publishers Association. His first book was a collection of essays about his entomological work titled, Grasshopper Dreaming: Reflections on Killing and Loving.

His most recent nonfiction books are Six-Legged Soldiers: Using Insects as Weapons of War, The Infested Mind: Why Humans Fear, Loathe and Love Insects, and Behind the Carbon Curtain: The Energy Industry, Political Censorship and Free Speech. He has also ventured in the world of fiction with a three-book noir mystery series featuring an ex-cop-turned-exterminator (Poisoned Justice and Murder on the Fly); look for Lethal Fetish to be released in 2019. Learn more about Jeff by visiting his personal webpage.

 

Last updated: December 17, 2019

Park footer

Contact Info

Mailing Address:

800 East Lakeshore Drive
Houghton, MI 49931

Phone:

906 482-0984

Contact Us