On Common Ground: An Examination of Iowa’s Loess Hills with Brian Hazlett and Ryan Allen

Wednesday, March 6, 6:00 - 7:00 pm
Shalom Chapel

Brian Hazlett and Ryan Allen are co-editors of On Common Ground: Learning and Living in the Loess Hills (2023). This book is a place-based, multidisciplinary examination of Iowa’s northern Loess Hills. Inspired by a similar event on Mount St. Helens, On Common Ground tells the story of over two dozen artists, writers, and naturalists who convened in Iowa’s northern Loess Hills in early Fall 2021. Although not as famous as Mount St. Helens, the Loess Hills are an exceptional natural landscape and a worthy environment for interdisciplinary interaction. The landform, sculpted from the deepest deposits of wind-borne glacial silt in the United States, is home to a significant collection of Iowa's remnant prairies, both in size and number. The group shared space and stories, participated in a prairie burn, and encountered a bison herd. This collaboration inspired a 30-minute documentary, an anthology of poems, essays, artwork, an indoor mural, and educational materials.

Join Brian and Ryan as they share information from their book and their shared experiences with Iowa’s Loess Hills. Attendance is free; RSVP online at shalomretreats.org or by calling 563.582.3592 by Tuesday, March 5.