Simon Winchester Draws Lines on the ‘Land’

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Man’s desire to claim ownership of the land under our feet has defined human civilization, beginning when Bronze Age farmers set the first land boundaries. Today, there are 317 international land borders in existence. Bestselling author Simon Winchester unearths this vast topic in his latest engrossing non-fiction book, Land, as he travels the globe and searches through our collective past to tell the vast history of human’s proprietary relationship to the land.

Spanning every corner of the globe, his meticulous research introduces readers to early European astronomers and explorers who dedicated their entire lives to conducting land surveys and creating the first precise land maps. Many of his stories also remind us of the dangers of land ownership, as he details America’s land exploitation over indigenous settlers, Soviet genocidal famines that resulted from the collectivization of land, and tenuous land boundaries in places like India and Pakistan. 

Land is a fascinating account of both the history of the planet’s land as well as a philosophical look at modern land ownership in the face of climate threats and growing private ownership by land billionaires, whose holdings have increased by 50% since 2007. Winchester, who studied geology at Oxford and has penned numerous bestselling books, turns his eyes upon the land itself in this illuminating collection. He will appear at a virtual event co-sponsored by Boswell Books and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee on January 28. Register at boswellbooks.com.

Woodland Pattern’s Poetry Marathon

Not even a global pandemic can stop Woodland Pattern Book Center from holding their 27th annual Poetry Marathon on January 30 and 31. This year’s virtual event will feature 24 hours of poetry recited by more than 250 artists. While over half of the poets and performers are Wisconsinites, this year’s event will feature literary talents from across 31 states as well as from other countries. A full line-up and detailed event information is available at woodlandpattern.org.