"The elements have never seemed more vital, or accessible, or just plain gorgeous. The elementals is a suite to sample and savor and ponder.”—Stephen Pyne, author of The Pyrocene

Fire, Volume 4 of the 5-Volume Elementals series, is a stunning collection of essays, poetry, and stories that illuminate the dynamic relationships between people and place, human and nonhuman life, mind and the material world, and the living energies that make all life possible.

Fire remains wild, increasingly so today, but its domestication changed the course of human evolution. If fire speaks, what is it saying to us perennially, and especially in an era of climate breakdown and mass extinction? A relationship with fire and the other elementals is not a solo endeavor. The stories and poems in this volume are tongues of fire, beckoning us to keep and tend the communal fire. Welcome to Fire.

The Elementals series explores how people from various cultures across the planet have worked with these powerful forces of change and regeneration to shape landscapes and deepen personal and place-based relationships. Contributors for Fire, Volume 4 include: Gavin Van Horn • Bruce Jennings • Stephanie Krzywonos • Jane Hirshfield • Charlotte Du Cann • Em Strang • Isaac Yuen • Catharina Coenen • Lucille Lang Day • Eiren Caffall • Glenn Albrecht • David Baker • Tyson Yunkaporta • Tamiko Beyer • José González • Miriam Morrill • Ron W. Goode • Rina Garcia Chua • Nina Mingya Powles • Camille T. Dungy • Jane Caputi

With compelling stories and insightful reflections, Fire, Volume 4 reveals how people are working with, adapting to, and cocreating relational depth and ecological diversity by respectfully attending to the fiery forces that shape our everyday worlds.

Proceeds from sales of Elementals benefit the nonprofit organization Center for Humans & Nature, home to a press and farm that explore in-depth and diverse perspectives about what it means to be human in an interconnected world. Humans & Nature Press shares ideas that build community and inspire action. Humans & Nature Farm is a place where ideas take root. The Center is a place to experience human connection with nature and consider our responsibilities to the whole community of life.