‘Words, Writers & Southwest Stories,’ a historically-based speaker series of the Southwest Seattle Historical Society, is excited to announce that it is hosting David Williams for a live Zoom presentation on Thursday, May 13 at 6:00 PM. Williams will be interviewed by series chair Dora-Faye Hendricks about his book, “Homewaters: A Human and Natural History of Puget Sound.” Registration is required.
Not far from Seattle skyscrapers live 150-year-old clams, more than 250 species of fish, and underwater kelp forests as complex as any terrestrial ecosystem. For millennia, vibrant Coast Salish communities have lived beside these waters dense with nutrient-rich foods, with cultures intertwined through exchanges across the waterways. Transformed by settlement and resource extraction, Puget Sound and its future health now depend on a better understanding of the region’s ecological complexities.
Focusing on the area south of Port Townsend and between the Cascade and Olympic mountains, Williams uncovers human and natural histories in, on, and around the Sound. In conversations with archaeologists, biologists, and tribal authorities, Williams traces how generations of humans have interacted with such species as geoducks, salmon, orcas, rockfish, and herring. He sheds light on how warfare shaped development and how people have moved across this maritime highway, in canoes, the mosquito fleet, and today’s ferry system. The book also takes an unflinching look at how the Sound’s ecosystems have suffered from human behavior, including pollution, habitat destruction, and the effects of climate change.
Witty, graceful, and deeply informed, Homewaters weaves history and science into a fascinating and hopeful narrative, one that will introduce newcomers to the astonishing life that inhabits the Sound and offers longtime residents new insight into and appreciation of the waters they call home.
David B. Williams is a naturalist, author, and educator. His many books include the award-winning Too High and Too Steep: Reshaping Seattle’s Topography and Seattle Walks: Discovering History and Nature in the City.
Registration is required. Registered participants will be emailed a link to the presentation on the date of the event. Please register for this event by filling out the form below:
This program is also made possible by the support of our partner The Seattle Public Library and our sponsors 4Culture, Luna Park Cafe, and HomeStreet Bank.
