''Terrain.org: A Journal of the Built + Natural Environments'' is an online journal publishing editorials, poetry, essays, fiction, articles, reviews, an interview, the ARTerrain gallery, and the Unsprawl case study on a rolling schedule, with up to five new contributions per week. ''Terrain.org'' also hosts an annual contest in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. It is based in

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

, United States.

History and profile

''Terrain.org'' was founded in 1997 by Simmons Buntin and Todd Ziebarth. The first issue appeared in summer 1998 and featured work by R.T. Smith,

David Rothenberg David Rothenberg (born 1962) is a professor of philosophy and music at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, with a special interest in animal sounds as music. He is also a composer and jazz musician whose books and recordings reflect a long ...

, Rick Cole,

James Howard Kunstler James Howard Kunstler is an American writer, social critic, public speaker, and blogger known for his analysis of urban development, suburbanization, and energy issues. Born in New York City to Jewish parents, he gained prominence through his no ...

, Sherry Saye, and others. Contributors and interview subjects since then include

Alison Hawthorne Deming Alison Hawthorne Deming (b. 1946 Hartford, Connecticut) is an American poet, essayist and teacher, former Agnese Nelms Haury Chair in Environment and Social Justice and currently Regents Professor Emerita in Creative Writing at the University of A ...

David Quammen David Quammen (born February 24, 1948) is an American writer focusing on science, nature, and travel. He is the author of fifteen books. Quammen's articles have appeared in '' Outside'', ''National Geographic'', ''Harper's Magazine'', ''Rolling St ...

, Lauret Savoy,

Terry Tempest Williams Terry Tempest Williams (born September 8, 1955) is an American writer, educator, conservationist, and activist. Williams' writing is rooted in the American West and has been significantly influenced by the arid landscape of Utah. Her work foc ...

Joy Harjo Joy Harjo ( ; born May 9, 1951) is an American poet, musician, playwright, and author. She served as the 23rd United States Poet Laureate from 2019 to 2022, the first Native American to hold that honor. She was also only the second Poet Laureat ...

Sandra Steingraber Sandra Steingraber (born 1959) is an American biologist, author, and cancer survivor. Steingraber writes and lectures on the environmental factors that contribute to reproductive health problems and environmental links to cancer. Early life St ...

Scott Russell Sanders Scott Russell Sanders (born October 26, 1945, in Memphis, Tennessee) is an American novelist and essayist. Sanders has won acclaim for his skill as a personal essayist. A contributing editor for ''Orion'' magazine, he has won the John Burroug ...

, Kathryn Miles,

Gary Snyder Gary Snyder (born May 8, 1930) is an American poet, essayist, lecturer, and environmental activist. His early poetry has been associated with the Beat Generation and the San Francisco Renaissance and he has been described as the "poet laureate ...

Wendell Berry Wendell Erdman Berry (born August 5, 1934) is an American novelist, poet, essayist, environmental activist, cultural critic, and farmer. Closely identified with rural Kentucky, Berry developed many of his agrarian themes in the early essays o ...

Andrés Duany Andrés Duany (born September 7, 1949) is an American architect, urban planner, and a founder of the Congress for the New Urbanism. Early life and education Duany was born in New York City but grew up in Cuba until 1960. He attended The Choat ...

, and many others. Each issue is archived. ''Terrain.org'' appears to be the first completely online environmentally oriented journal, and continues to be one of the most comprehensive journals with original content exploring the nexus between the built and natural environments where it exists, and attempting to generate a discourse where that nexus does not exist. In March 2009 ''Web del Sol'' called ''Terrain.org'' a "Top 50 Literary Magazine and Metazine." Other awards include

Dzanc Books Dzanc Books is an American independent press book publisher. It is a non-profit 501(c)(3) private foundation. Michelle Dotter is publisher and editor-in-chief. Background Dzanc Books was founded in 2006 by Steven Gillis, a lawyer turned novelis ...

Best of the Web selections in 2008, 2009, and 2010; Top 100 Architectural Blogs listing by International Listings (though ''Terrain.org'' is not a blog, it does offer the Terrain.org Blog);

Planetizen Planetizen is a planning-related news website and e-learning platform based in Los Angeles, California. It features user-submitted news, editor-evaluated news and weekly user-contributed op-eds about urban planning and several related fields. Th ...

Top 50 Website; and ''

Utne Reader ''Utne Reader'' (also known as ''Utne''; , ) is a digital digest that collects and reprints articles on politics, culture, and the environment, generally from alternative media sources including journals, newsletters, weeklies, zines, music, and ...

'' Best of the Alternative Web. ''Terrain.org'' has editors as well as an international editorial board that serves primarily in an advisory capacity. The online journal also has a partnership with the journal/book series ''Terra Nova: Nature & Culture'', published by

MIT Press The MIT Press is the university press of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The MIT Press publishes a number of academic journals and has been a pioneer in the Open Ac ...

. ''Terra Nova's'' editor Rothenberg is a ''Terrain.org'' editorial board member and contributing editor. ''Terrain.org'' occasionally republishes work originally appearing in print editions of ''Terra Nova''. ''Terrain.org'' often conducts readings, occasionally in conjunction with sponsors. For example, ''Terrain.org's'' 24th issue, with the theme of "Borders & Bridges," was launched with a reading featuring Rothenberg, Christopher Cokinos, Pamela Uschuk, and Deborah Fries in September 2009. It was hosted by the

University of Arizona Poetry Center The University of Arizona Poetry Center in Tucson, Arizona, is among the most extensive collections of contemporary poetry in the United States. It is the largest such collection which is "open shelf." History of the collection and the center Th ...

and co-sponsored by the

Center for Biological Diversity The Center for Biological Diversity is a nonprofit membership organization known for its work protecting endangered species through legal action, scientific petitions, creative media and grassroots activism. It was founded in 1989 by Kieran Suck ...

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Terrain.Org 1997 establishments in Arizona Art websites Magazines established in 1997 Magazines published in Arizona Online literary magazines published in the United States