Terry Tempest Williams on May 13, 2026 | UCSB Arts & Lectures

“We’re not the only species that lives and dreams on this planet.” – Terry Tempest Williams

“Williams is one of the great chroniclers of the American west, alongside Wallace Stegner and Edward Abbey.” London Review of Books

Author and activist Terry Tempest Williams joins Pico Iyer to explore the role of imagination in seeking justice and stewarding the future of the planet. In her forthcoming book The Glorians: Visitations from the Holy Ordinary, she offers a testament to the power of witness and extends an invitation to engage more deeply with one another and the living world. A fearless voice for ecological awareness and positive social change, Williams blends the lyricism of a poet with the urgency of a citizen advocate. From wilderness to Congress and from Utah to Rwanda, her work illuminates the deep ties between environmentalism and human rights. This provocative dialogue promises to explore what power could look like when understood as not only within us and between us as humans, but also extending beyond our species.