Margaret Renkl is a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times, where her essays appear weekly. She has been recognized with numerous prestigious awards for her writing. She is the founding editor of Chapter 16, a daily literary publication of Humanities Tennessee. A graduate of Auburn University and the University of South Carolina, she now lives in Nashville. She is the author of Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss (Milkweed Editions 2019), Graceland, At Last: Notes on Hope and Heartache from the American South (Milkweed Editions 2021) and The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year (Spiegel and Grau 2023)

Interview Date: 6/19/2023 Tags: Margaret Renkl, untidy gardens, soil, serotonin, gardening, bumblebees, grasshoppers, bird watching, sheltering in place, mountain lions, rattlesnakes, coyote in the bathroom, spiders, Ecology/Nature/Environment