The National Parks: A Century of Grace represents karla and Alan’s journey to celebrate our national parks’ one-hundredth anniversary, but for these two poets the sojourns quickly became something greater than that. In their words, “As humans we have this tendency to look at a piece of land and see real estate. [But] when concrete covers all our natural spaces, not only do we lose earth’s creatures, we also lose the great teacher of our souls. You cannot sit beneath trees taller than the Statue of Liberty, or gaze upon vistas untouched since their creation, without feeling the awe and wonder of what the natural world has to offer. You cannot experience such beauty without being wholly changed. Our great-great-great-grandchildren deserve these untouched gifts.”

This journey, illustrated with gorgeous color photos of all of America’s grand national parks, is a feast for the eyes and heart. In the end, The National Parks: A Century of Grace is a plea for us to save these wonders for all future generations.

karla k. morton is a professional speaker, award-winning author, photographer, the 2010 Texas Poet Laureate, and a member of the Texas Institute of Letters. More here on karla.

Alan Birkelbach is a member of the Texas Institute of Letters and the Academy of American Poets. He is the author of 11 books of poetry. He is the 2005 Texas State Poet Laureate. More here on Alan.

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