Morgan Sjogren
@morgansjogren.bsky.social
➸Writing about Western land & water from the 🤎 of the desert.
➸Path of Light—A Walk Through Colliding Legacies of Glen Canyon➸Utah Book Award Winner/Library of Congress Great Reads Selection
➸Stories: AZHighways, bioGraphic, Reasons to be Cheerful, Sierra
➸Path of Light—A Walk Through Colliding Legacies of Glen Canyon➸Utah Book Award Winner/Library of Congress Great Reads Selection
➸Stories: AZHighways, bioGraphic, Reasons to be Cheerful, Sierra
Imagine if Colorado River Basin decision makers considered such expansive views instead of clinging to development plans. With decisions being made by people behind closed doors, what, if anything, has changed since the 1922 Colorado River Compact except less water? open.substack.com/pub/wildword...
November 19, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Imagine if Colorado River Basin decision makers considered such expansive views instead of clinging to development plans. With decisions being made by people behind closed doors, what, if anything, has changed since the 1922 Colorado River Compact except less water? open.substack.com/pub/wildword...
Tomorrow I’m presenting on the Century Old Dream to protect Glen Canyon at the Rivers of Change Symposium. It’s appropriate timing as Colorado River states drag their feet to change archaic water policy as drought steadily returns Glen Canyon to fresh air (again). www.eventbrite.com/e/rivers-of-...
November 12, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Tomorrow I’m presenting on the Century Old Dream to protect Glen Canyon at the Rivers of Change Symposium. It’s appropriate timing as Colorado River states drag their feet to change archaic water policy as drought steadily returns Glen Canyon to fresh air (again). www.eventbrite.com/e/rivers-of-...
Books should be included on a menu to nourish our ability to learn, grow, question, resist, discuss, help each other, and advocate for the rights of nature, which includes humans. open.substack.com/pub/wildword... @hellsbackbonegrill.bsky.social
November 9, 2025 at 2:23 AM
Books should be included on a menu to nourish our ability to learn, grow, question, resist, discuss, help each other, and advocate for the rights of nature, which includes humans. open.substack.com/pub/wildword... @hellsbackbonegrill.bsky.social
Meandering around the next bend. 〰️
October 29, 2025 at 3:09 AM
Meandering around the next bend. 〰️
Instead of writing last week, I was walking around dressed like Edward Abbey in the desert, apparently.
October 20, 2025 at 2:14 AM
Instead of writing last week, I was walking around dressed like Edward Abbey in the desert, apparently.
And Glen Canyon lovers won’t want to miss this!
September 24, 2025 at 9:54 PM
And Glen Canyon lovers won’t want to miss this!
This fall I’m hitting the road for an encore Path of Light tour!🧡2 years after its release into the wild this book has taken on a life of its own. The best part has been connecting with readers who resonate with this story & the desert landscapes it advocates for. I hope to see you there!
September 24, 2025 at 9:53 PM
This fall I’m hitting the road for an encore Path of Light tour!🧡2 years after its release into the wild this book has taken on a life of its own. The best part has been connecting with readers who resonate with this story & the desert landscapes it advocates for. I hope to see you there!
Though I may never see Path of Light on the shelf, I know it is real. That is, a bound book I spent 5 years writing & walking to complete will live in the Library of Congress’s book canyons. The stories in Path of Light are already archived in the desert. open.substack.com/pub/wildword...
September 3, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Though I may never see Path of Light on the shelf, I know it is real. That is, a bound book I spent 5 years writing & walking to complete will live in the Library of Congress’s book canyons. The stories in Path of Light are already archived in the desert. open.substack.com/pub/wildword...
On Thursday, I will be joining the podcast 90 Miles From Needles to celebrate their 100th episode. The event is live on Zoom, Thursday, August 7 at 7:00 pm PST:
90milesfromneedles.com/100 (Meeting ID: 874 3735 7514).
90milesfromneedles.com/100 (Meeting ID: 874 3735 7514).
August 5, 2025 at 4:09 PM
On Thursday, I will be joining the podcast 90 Miles From Needles to celebrate their 100th episode. The event is live on Zoom, Thursday, August 7 at 7:00 pm PST:
90milesfromneedles.com/100 (Meeting ID: 874 3735 7514).
90milesfromneedles.com/100 (Meeting ID: 874 3735 7514).
“Wasting Time.” That was the subject line of an email from publisher Brett Van Emst requesting a short submission with a tight turnaround. I replied with a list of excuses. That email is what he published as “Bad Capitalist” in issue eight. wildwords.substack.com/p/wasting-time
July 28, 2025 at 6:19 PM
“Wasting Time.” That was the subject line of an email from publisher Brett Van Emst requesting a short submission with a tight turnaround. I replied with a list of excuses. That email is what he published as “Bad Capitalist” in issue eight. wildwords.substack.com/p/wasting-time
The lineage of Utah literature is something to celebrate. I am currently looking at several of past Utah Book Award winners on my shelf, & emails from a few of these authors. I am grateful to each for the courage, support, and inspiration to write Path of Light.
July 15, 2025 at 6:50 PM
The lineage of Utah literature is something to celebrate. I am currently looking at several of past Utah Book Award winners on my shelf, & emails from a few of these authors. I am grateful to each for the courage, support, and inspiration to write Path of Light.
It’s rare to return from the backcountry (the read world) to good news. This was a glimmer of joy amid smoky skies. It is an honor to share the Utah Book Award for Memoir/Narrative with Christopher Cokinos!🧡
July 15, 2025 at 6:48 PM
It’s rare to return from the backcountry (the read world) to good news. This was a glimmer of joy amid smoky skies. It is an honor to share the Utah Book Award for Memoir/Narrative with Christopher Cokinos!🧡
During my recent visit to Zion Nat. Park, I walked away from the bus to the Virgin River. Less than a quarter mile from the shuttle station and main road, I could not hear the traffic; only birds chirping, breeze fluttering cottonwood leaves, and the river babbling on.
July 9, 2025 at 3:33 PM
During my recent visit to Zion Nat. Park, I walked away from the bus to the Virgin River. Less than a quarter mile from the shuttle station and main road, I could not hear the traffic; only birds chirping, breeze fluttering cottonwood leaves, and the river babbling on.
It’s not a good day for America. But if you called/wrote your reps opposing this big bullshit bill saga you are part of the changes still yet to be made. Onward!
Also, I am very heartbroken and crying.
Also, I am very heartbroken and crying.
July 3, 2025 at 6:57 PM
It’s not a good day for America. But if you called/wrote your reps opposing this big bullshit bill saga you are part of the changes still yet to be made. Onward!
Also, I am very heartbroken and crying.
Also, I am very heartbroken and crying.
This is a tremendous & emotional honor, sparking reflection of the stories that will now be archived in the LOC. Clyde Whiskers & the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe. A century of efforts to protect the Glen Canyon/Bears Ears landscape. And the remarkable humans met along far-flung desert routes.
July 2, 2025 at 10:01 PM
This is a tremendous & emotional honor, sparking reflection of the stories that will now be archived in the LOC. Clyde Whiskers & the San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe. A century of efforts to protect the Glen Canyon/Bears Ears landscape. And the remarkable humans met along far-flung desert routes.
Path of Light: A Walk Through Colliding Legacies of Glen Canyon has been chosen by the Utah Center for the Book to be included in the “Great Reads from Great Places” adult list for the 2025 National Book Festival of the Library of Congress!
July 2, 2025 at 9:58 PM
Path of Light: A Walk Through Colliding Legacies of Glen Canyon has been chosen by the Utah Center for the Book to be included in the “Great Reads from Great Places” adult list for the 2025 National Book Festival of the Library of Congress!
The Great Basin knows how to take a long view, and continues to stretch itself today. I suppose we humans can follow its lead and do the same, for the land and each other, in the geological blip we are here. open.substack.com/pub/wildword...
July 2, 2025 at 3:53 PM
The Great Basin knows how to take a long view, and continues to stretch itself today. I suppose we humans can follow its lead and do the same, for the land and each other, in the geological blip we are here. open.substack.com/pub/wildword...
What a beautiful review from Utah Humanities. It is an honor for Path of Light to be among the Utah Book Awards Finalists. 🧡
June 25, 2025 at 6:34 PM
What a beautiful review from Utah Humanities. It is an honor for Path of Light to be among the Utah Book Awards Finalists. 🧡
I finished reading Crossings by @bengoldfarb.bsky.social this morning, followed immediately by news about the Roadless Rule rollback. 10/10 recommend this book (& calling your reps) NOW!
June 24, 2025 at 11:07 PM
I finished reading Crossings by @bengoldfarb.bsky.social this morning, followed immediately by news about the Roadless Rule rollback. 10/10 recommend this book (& calling your reps) NOW!
River runners describe this as “re-entry” when returning from an extended period of time in the backcountry or on the water.
Lately, I experience bouts of re-entry everyday. Like when I am reporting and the situation worsens before I can plop down punctuation. open.substack.com/pub/wildword...
Lately, I experience bouts of re-entry everyday. Like when I am reporting and the situation worsens before I can plop down punctuation. open.substack.com/pub/wildword...
June 23, 2025 at 1:39 PM
River runners describe this as “re-entry” when returning from an extended period of time in the backcountry or on the water.
Lately, I experience bouts of re-entry everyday. Like when I am reporting and the situation worsens before I can plop down punctuation. open.substack.com/pub/wildword...
Lately, I experience bouts of re-entry everyday. Like when I am reporting and the situation worsens before I can plop down punctuation. open.substack.com/pub/wildword...
What a time to be alive. Interest groups, “want to set up an organization modeled after the National Parks Foundation that can accept donations for dam operations and maintenance, including the visitor center, which is supported by power sales.”
Go Fund My Dam!?!?
Go Fund My Dam!?!?
June 23, 2025 at 1:35 PM
What a time to be alive. Interest groups, “want to set up an organization modeled after the National Parks Foundation that can accept donations for dam operations and maintenance, including the visitor center, which is supported by power sales.”
Go Fund My Dam!?!?
Go Fund My Dam!?!?
A little time on the river reminded me how essential it is to tap into our more wild brain. To let watching the wonder of fluffy white cottonwood seeds wafting past in a warm breeze be enough. open.substack.com/pub/wildword...
June 22, 2025 at 9:15 PM
A little time on the river reminded me how essential it is to tap into our more wild brain. To let watching the wonder of fluffy white cottonwood seeds wafting past in a warm breeze be enough. open.substack.com/pub/wildword...
Between reporting assignments and essential desert time, I’m out talking to my friends, neighbors, fam, and community about the issues I care about most. So much momentum comes offline. Try it! 💖
June 18, 2025 at 3:42 AM
Between reporting assignments and essential desert time, I’m out talking to my friends, neighbors, fam, and community about the issues I care about most. So much momentum comes offline. Try it! 💖
Some march in the streets, we took to the canyons. The United States is an amazing place because of its diversity—people and landscapes. We need to protect both! No kings! No oligarchs selling public lands for billionaire tax cuts. 🧡 to all who marched today!
June 15, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Some march in the streets, we took to the canyons. The United States is an amazing place because of its diversity—people and landscapes. We need to protect both! No kings! No oligarchs selling public lands for billionaire tax cuts. 🧡 to all who marched today!
Drought colliding with violent storms. Mud flooding cracked earth. The land is nature’s archive—water is its editor. And what about the world beyond the desert fortress? Resistance in the streets and up in the clouds. No matter your coordinates, we are all aground.
open.substack.com/pub/wildword...
open.substack.com/pub/wildword...
June 9, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Drought colliding with violent storms. Mud flooding cracked earth. The land is nature’s archive—water is its editor. And what about the world beyond the desert fortress? Resistance in the streets and up in the clouds. No matter your coordinates, we are all aground.
open.substack.com/pub/wildword...
open.substack.com/pub/wildword...