The Season of Birds and Stones: Essays

The essays that make up The Season of Birds and Stones grapple with questions of what wilderness means and how we can interact with and learn from other species. Set in some of our most stunning public lands, including Denali National Park and Preserve, Great Basin National Park, Isle Royale National Park, and Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park, Renfro's essays examine her encounters with bears, arctic ground squirrels, loons, red-winged blackbirds, moose, and wolves, as she wrestles with a range of subjects including motherhood, mental illness, grief, and darkness. Whether focusing on bears in Alaska or the darkness of the Upper Peninsula, searching for moose bones on Isle Royale, or seeking out her past self in the landscape of Great Basin, her essays are rooted in the natural world but also in storytelling--the stories we tell about ourselves, the stories we tell about others, and the stories we tell about other species. Both deeply personal and meticulously researched, Renfro's essays seek to illuminate the natural world and show its deep relevance and resonance in all of our lives.

Author: Yelizaveta P. Renfro
Publisher: University of Georgia Press
Published: 03/15/2026
Pages: 224
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.70lbs
Size: 8.53h x 5.60w x 0.60d
ISBN: 9780820377308


Review Citation(s):
Booklist 03/01/2026

About the Author
YELIZAVETA P. RENFRO is the author of Xylotheque and A Catalogue of Everything in the World. Her work has appeared in North American Review, Creative Nonfiction, Orion, Terrain, Colorado Review, and other publications. Renfro has served as artist-in-residence at Denali National Park and Preserve, Isle Royale National Park, and Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. She lives in South Bend, Indiana, and teaches creative writing at Saint Mary's College in Notre Dame, Indiana.