CC’s Hanson One of Seven Finalists for ASLE Book Award

Casper College author and instructor Chad Hanson in Grand Teton National Park. Photo courtesy of Lynn Hanson.

Casper College’s Chad Hanson was one of seven finalists for the Association for the Study of Literature and Environment Book Awards for 2017.

His book of poetry, titled “This Human Shape” was a finalist in the “Creative Writing” category. The ASLE said of Hanson’s book: “Close observation opens into magic in this humble and finely-crafted collection. ‘This Human Shape’ joins the finest environmental literature in offering up a rich set of characters closely entwined with the creatures, plants, and objects of the landscapes they dwell in.”

“It was a real honor and a great milestone to be a finalist along with one of my writing heroes, (Kathleen Dean Moore) who had an early influence on me with her book ‘Riverwalking,’ said Hanson.

“This Human Shape” took Hanson approximately two years to write. He took inspiration from his many readings. “I read a lot and find an idea that strikes me, which I then put into a journal of ideas, and they become the genesis for a poem.” In the genre of creative writing, the writer “nearly always has to have begun publishing poems in a journal,” and indeed, several of the poems that appear in “This Human Shape” were originally published in journals while the rest were specifically written for the book.

Both “This Human Shape” and Hanson’s other book of poetry, “Patches of Light” are published by Red Dragonfly Press and can be purchased by going to www.reddragonflypress.org.

In addition to his two books of poetry, Hanson is also the author of two nonfiction works: “Swimming with Trout” and “Trout Streams of the Heart,” and two research works: “In Search of Self: Exploring Student Identity Development” and “The Community College and the Good Society.”

Hanson is a sociology and social work instructor and chair of the social and cultural studies department at Casper College.