Brooke Williams

Brooke Williams writes about evolution, consciousness, and his own adventures exploring both the inner and outer wilderness. His books include Open Midnight: Where Wilderness and Ancestors Meet (Trinity University Press, 2017), Mary Jane Wild: Two Walks and a Rant (Homebound Publications, 2020), and his latest Encountering Dragonfly: Notes on the Practice of Re-Enchantment (Uphill Books, 2025). His writing has appeared in Orion, Outside, Huffington Post, and numerous other publications, and has been anthologized in Best American Essays. He lives with the writer, Terry Tempest Williams, and two cats near Moab, Utah, where they watch light and wait for rain. More at https://brookewilliams.site/ and @brookeusi

Photo by Dan Schrag

Brooke Williams in Kosmos

Where the Water Waits

I’ve been sitting at this pond for ten minutes and have seen only eight dragonflies: my young male, six other meadowhawks, and two great mossy darners. According to my journal, I observed eight different species here exactly a year ago. Although one hummingbird and two violet-green swallows are here hunting them, insects seem scarce.

Published in Volume 25 Issue 2

Coming Soon

The Village Way

Practices for Belonging in a Fragmented World

For thousands of years, we lived according to the principles of village life. Then, around the 14th Century, our lives were reorganized by rulers around growth and accumulation – often at the cost of community, equity, and the living Earth. What would it mean to return to simplicity, and mutual care?

Join us for a 9-month inquiry into this question, exploring how we participate together in a time that calls us back to community, resilience, and shared life,