Aerie InternationaL - Missoula County Public Schools

AI: What are some other concerns you have for the world? Are there any world
issues or beliefs that are particularly interesting to you? (i.e. issues/ideas that are
political, environmental, religious, ancient, philosophical etc.)
JR: There’s a recent article in the New Yorker. Apparently, animals in
Florida zoos escape every time there’s a hurricane. Most of them are
rounded up or killed, but a large population of exotic reptiles consistently
avoids capture. The boa constrictor, especially, seems to have adapted
well to Florida as a natural habitat and is multiplying rapidly. According
to some experts, boas will inhabit most southern states within a few
decades. My mother is terrified of snakes. I think this prospect scares her
more than the duck-and-cover drills she did as a child.
We like to think that, if we all got on a space ship and left Earth alone
for a while, the planet would heal itself. And it would, but it would
look different from the way we found it. After all, we have caused the
extinction of many species. We have imported foreign plants and animals
that killed native plants and animals. I don’t think most people realize
how far we’ve already overstepped our ecological boundaries. For further
reading, I recommend The World Without Us by Alan Weisman.
So yeah. I think about that too much.
AI: In Montana, many of us go on hikes in the mountains or walk by the rivers to get
in touch with nature and fuel our creative fires. Do you ever do anything like this? If
so, where are some places in South Carolina that you go to do this?
JR: In this, I envy Montanans. I know there are plenty of cool nature
spots in the rural areas of South Carolina, but not so much in a city like
Greenville. Our campus at the Governor’s School does overlook a
beautiful park that we spend a lot of time in, but the river that runs
through it – the Reedy – is polluted to the point of Swimming Advisory
signs. In other words: look at the pretty river, but don’t touch.
AI: You mentioned doing a research paper on Pablo Neruda and that you read
too much of his work for your own good. Who are your favorite poets or short story
authors? Why?
JR: I don’t read as much poetry as I should, but overall, Neruda is a
front-runner. I’m not a fan of his love poems, but his odes to everyday
objects are amazing. Plus, the man took so many risks for his beliefs and
his writing – you’ve got to respect that.
Fiction: Flannery O’Connor is the supreme. Charles Baxter, also great.
My favorite short story to date is “Hidden Meaning: Ain’t Gonna Bump
No More No Big Fat Woman” by Michael Parker. Nonfiction: writers like
Tobias Wolff and Susan Orlean are staples. I’m interested, obviously, in
environmental writing, so Rachel Carson, Lewis Thomas, Rick Bass, Bill
Bryson, and Barry Lopez are all currently being added to my “stew.”
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