Camille T. Dungy wove realities of 2020 into nature-based narrative

Camille T. Dungy is the author of “Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden.” Dungy has published four books of poetry and edited three anthologies, including “Black Nature: Four Centuries of African American Nature Poetry.” Her honors include the 2021 Academy of American Poets Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Colorado Book Award, and an American Book Award. She is a University Distinguished Professor at Colorado State University.

SunLit: Tell us this book’s backstory. What inspired you to write it? Where did the story/theme originate?

Camille Dungy: I’d been interested in writing a book about what grew up from the soil around me. A nature book. I won a Guggenheim fellowship that offered me the opportunity to pursue this goal in 2020. Perhaps…