Background
Derrick Jensen was born on the 19th of December, 1960 in the United States.
Derrick Jensen
1983
1500 Illinois St, Golden, CO 80401, United States
Derrick Jensen studied at Colorado School of Mines where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mineral engineering physics in 1983.
1991
526 5th St, Cheney, WA 99004, United States
Derrick Jensen obtained a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from Eastern Washington University in 1991.
2008
Derrick Jensen
2014
Derrick Jensen
Derrick Jensen
1983
1500 Illinois St, Golden, CO 80401, United States
Derrick Jensen studied at Colorado School of Mines where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mineral engineering physics in 1983.
1991
526 5th St, Cheney, WA 99004, United States
Derrick Jensen obtained a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from Eastern Washington University in 1991.
2008
Derrick Jensen
2014
Derrick Jensen
Derrick Jensen
Derrick Jensen
Derrick Jensen
(In this far-ranging and heartening collection, Derrick Je...)
In this far-ranging and heartening collection, Derrick Jensen gathers conversations with environmentalists, theologians, Native Americans, psychologists, and feminists, engaging some of our best minds in an exploration of more peaceful ways to live on Earth. Included here is Dave Foreman on biodiversity, Matthew Fox on Christianity and nature, Jerry Mander on technology, and Terry Tempest Williams on an erotic connection to the land. With intelligence and compassion, Listening to the Land moves from a look at the condition of the environment and the health of our spirit to a beautiful evocation of eros and a life based on love.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1931498563/?tag=2022091-20
1995
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1879628082/?tag=2022091-20
1995
(At once a beautifully poetic memoir and an exploration of...)
At once a beautifully poetic memoir and an exploration of the various ways we live in the world, A Language Older Than Words explains violence as a pathology that touches every aspect of our lives and indeed affects all aspects of life on Earth. This chronicle of a young man's drive to transcend domestic abuse offers a challenging look at our worldwide sense of community and how we can make things better.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1931498555/?tag=2022091-20
2000
(Derrick Jensen takes no prisoners in The Culture of Make ...)
Derrick Jensen takes no prisoners in The Culture of Make Believe, his brilliant and eagerly awaited follow-up to his powerful and lyrical A Language Older Than Words. What begins as an exploration of the lines of thought and experience that run between the massive lynchings in early twentieth-century America to today's death squads in South America soon explodes into an examination of the very heart of our civilization. The Culture of Make Believe is a book that is as impeccably researched as it is moving, with conclusions as far-reaching as they are shocking.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005JZGYAQ/?tag=2022091-20
2002
(Ever since Gilgamesh cut down the ancient cedar forests o...)
Ever since Gilgamesh cut down the ancient cedar forests of Mesopotamia, civilizations and empires have foundered and collapsed in the wake of widespread deforestation. Today, with three-quarters of the world's original forests gone and the pace of cutting, clearing, processing, and pulping ever-accelerating, Jensen and Draffan lay bare the stark scenario we face we were not only people but the nonhuman fabric of life itself unless deforestation is slowed and stopped. A must-read for anyone who wants to understand the relationship between deforestation and our ecological crisis as well as an essential "handbook" for forest and anti-globalization activists.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1931498458/?tag=2022091-20
2003
(Remember the days of longing for the hands-on classroom c...)
Remember the days of longing for the hands-on classroom clock to move faster? Most of us would say we love to learn, but we hated school. Why is that? What happens to creativity and individuality as we pass through the educational system? Walking on Water is a startling and provocative look at teaching, writing, creativity, and life by a writer increasingly recognized for his passionate and articulate critique of modern civilization.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1931498784/?tag=2022091-20
2004
(You could call them the Monkeywrench Gang of the nanotech...)
You could call them the Monkeywrench Gang of the nanotech age. Derrick Jensen and George Draffan are taking down the data mining industry, one converted mind at a time. In the face of RFID chips, consumer tracking strategies, and illegal government wiretapping, Jensen and Draffan are determined to show consumers how to fight back against government and industry to regain their rights, their privacy, and their humanity. In their new book, Welcome to the Machine: Science, Surveillance, and the Culture of Control, Jensen and Draffan take a hart-hitting look at the way technology is used as a machine, to control us and our environment.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1931498520/?tag=2022091-20
2004
(The long-awaited companion piece to Derrick Jensen's imme...)
The long-awaited companion piece to Derrick Jensen's immensely popular and highly acclaimed works A Language Older Than Words and The Culture of Make-Believe. Accepting the increasingly widespread belief that industrialized culture inevitably erodes the natural world, Endgame sets out to explore how this relationship impels us towards a revolutionary and as-yet-undiscovered shift in strategy. Building on a series of simple but increasingly provocative premises, Jensen leaves us hoping for what may be inevitable: a return to agrarian communal life via the disintegration of civilization itself.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/158322730X/?tag=2022091-20
2006
(Two of America's most talented activists team up to deliv...)
Two of America's most talented activists team up to deliver a bold and hilarious satire of modern environmental policy in this fully illustrated graphic novel. The U.S. government gives robot machines from space permission to eat the earth in exchange for bricks of gold. A one-eyed bunny rescues his friends from a corporate animal-testing laboratory. And two little girls figure out the secret to saving the world from both of its enemies. As the World Burns will inspire you to do whatever it takes to stop ecocide before it’s too late.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1583227776/?tag=2022091-20
2007
(In this collection of interviews, Derrick Jensen discusse...)
In this collection of interviews, Derrick Jensen discusses the destructive dominant culture with ten people who have devoted their lives to undermining it. Whether it is Carolyn Raffensperger and her radical approach to public health, or Thomas Berry on perceiving the sacred, be it Kathleen Dean Moore reminding us that our bodies are made of mountains, rivers, and sunlight or Vine Deloria asserting that our dreams tell us more about the world than science ever can, the activists and philosophers interviewed in How Shall I Live My Life? Each bravely presents a few of the endless forms that resistance can and must take.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0038BZOOK/?tag=2022091-20
2008
(A serial killer stalks the streets of Spokane, acting out...)
A serial killer stalks the streets of Spokane, acting out a misogynist script from the dark heart of this culture. Across town, a writer named Derrick has spent his life tracking the reasons political, psychological, spiritual for the sadism of modern civilization. And through the grim nights, Nika, a trafficked woman, tries to survive the grinding violence of prostitution. Their lives and the forces propelling them are about to collide.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1604860448/?tag=2022091-20
2009
(Putting corporate disregard for ecology on trial, this no...)
Putting corporate disregard for ecology on trial, this novel follows Vexcorp, a wealthy corporation that, at a safe distance, counts both the lives of others and the health of the environment as expenses on a balance sheet but that distance is about to collapse. Malia is an activist who has lost faith in systemic reform, and Dujuan is a street thug torn by grief at his younger sister’s death. When Dujuan mugs Malia, she compares him to Vexcorp, triggering a storm inside him. That storm only clears when he identifies the real agent of his pain: Larry Gordon, Vexcorp’s CEO. The injury requires justice, so Dujuan kidnaps Gordon and presents him to Malia for judgment. As bystanders become involved and time runs out, Malia is forced to make grueling moral decisions between survival and loyalty, safety and courage, and agency and despair.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1604860456/?tag=2022091-20
2009
(A scathing indictment of U.S. domestic and foreign policy...)
A scathing indictment of U.S. domestic and foreign policy, this collection of interviews gathers incendiary insights from 10 of today’s most experienced and knowledgeable activists. Whether it’s Ramsey Clark describing the long history of military invasion, Alfred McCoy detailing the relationship between CIA activities and the increase in the global heroin trade, Stephen Schwartz reporting the obscene costs of nuclear armaments, or Katharine Albrecht tracing the horrors of the modern surveillance state, this investigation of global governance is sure to inform, engage, and incite readers.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1604860464/?tag=2022091-20
2010
(Old Mrs. Johnson lives alone in the forest and loves to k...)
Old Mrs. Johnson lives alone in the forest and loves to knit sweaters and mittens for her grandchildren in the city. One day, when returning from a visit to the city, her solitude comes to an end when her mischievous forest neighbors reveal themselves in a delightfully colorful fashion someone took her yarn. The colorful mystery is solved when the birds, rabbits, snakes, trees, and other dwellers of Mrs. Johnson's neighborhood are seen playing with the yarn. Suddenly the forest doesn't seem so lonely, and the visiting grandkids take great delight getting to know its inhabitants. This picture book is a lesson for both young and old to connect with one's surroundings and embrace the role of good neighbors with the rest of the natural world, whether in the city or in the forest.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1604860812/?tag=2022091-20
2010
(For years, Derrick Jensen has asked his audiences, "Do yo...)
For years, Derrick Jensen has asked his audiences, "Do you think this culture will undergo a voluntary transformation to a sane and sustainable way of life?" No one ever says yes. Deep Green Resistance starts where the environmental movement leaves off: industrial civilization is incompatible with life. Technology can't fix it and shop no matter how green it won’t stop it. To save this planet, we need a serious resistance movement that can bring down the industrial economy. Deep Green Resistance evaluates strategic options for resistance, from nonviolence to guerrilla warfare, and the conditions required for those options to be successful. It provides an exploration of organizational structures, recruitment, security, and target selection for both aboveground and underground action.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1583229299/?tag=2022091-20
2011
(Jensen's furthest-reaching book yet, Dreams challenges th...)
Jensen's furthest-reaching book yet, Dreams challenges the "destructive nihilism" of writers like Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris who believe that there is no reality outside what can be measured using the tools of science. He introduces the mythologies of ancient cultures and modern indigenous peoples as evidence of alternative ways of understanding reality, informed by thinkers such as American Indian writer Jack Forbes, theologian, and American Indian rights activist Vine Deloria, Shaman Martin Prechtel, Dakota activist and scholar Waziyatawin, and Okanagan Indian writer Jeannette Armstrong. He draws on the wisdom of Dr. Paul Staments, author of Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World, sociologist Stanley Aronowitz, who discusses science's lack of accountability to the earth, and many more.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1583229302/?tag=2022091-20
2011
(From acclaimed author Derrick Jensen comes a prescient, t...)
From acclaimed author Derrick Jensen comes a prescient, thought-provoking collection of interviews with 10 leading writers, philosophers, teachers, and activists who argue against society's belief that corporations and governments know what is best for the future, instead choosing to help acknowledge the values we know in our hearts are right and inspire within us the courage to act on them.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1604862998/?tag=2022091-20
2011
(In the acclaimed A Language Older Than Words, Jensen diss...)
In the acclaimed A Language Older Than Words, Jensen dissects his own abusive childhood to examine the pathology of Western culture and shares with us the power and beauty of an alliance with the natural world. He continues to use the lens of his own experience as well as the wisdom of philosophers, activists, and teachers to expose oppression and call us to action in his other early works, Listening to the Land, A Culture of Make Believe, Strangely Like War, and Walking on Water.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/160980404X/?tag=2022091-20
2012
(In this darkly comic novel, the six women of the Knitting...)
In this darkly comic novel, the six women of the Knitting Circle meet every week to talk, eat cake, and make fabulous sweaters. The easy-going circle undergoes a drastic change when the members realize they are all the survivors of rape worse still, that none of their attackers suffered consequences and the group becomes the vengeful Knitting Circle Rapist Annihilation Squad, taking punishment into their own hands via their knitting needles. As the women take their revenge, groups of men issue statements against the vigilante ladies, from the Chamber of Commerce to the sinister Men Against Women Against Rape (MAWAR), plotting to stop and punish the Knitting Circle. Featuring strong female characters, this satirical piece explores love, revenge, feminism, violence, and knitting.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1604865962/?tag=2022091-20
2012
(In this impassioned polemic, radical environmental philos...)
In this impassioned polemic, radical environmental philosopher Derrick Jensen debunks the near-universal belief in a hierarchy of nature and the superiority of humans. Vast and underappreciated complexities of nonhuman life are explored in detail from the cultures of pigs and prairie dogs to the creative use of tools by elephants and fish to the acumen of caterpillars and fungi. The paralysis of the scientific establishment on moral and ethical issues is confronted and a radical new framework for assessing the intelligence and sentience of nonhuman life is put forth.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1609806786/?tag=2022091-20
2016
Derrick Jensen was born on the 19th of December, 1960 in the United States.
Derrick Jensen studied at Colorado School of Mines where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mineral engineering physics in 1983. He also obtained a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from Eastern Washington University in 1991.
Derrick Jensen began his career as a teacher of writing at Pelican Bay State Prison and Eastern Washington University. He was an Associate Editor for Transitions magazine in 1990-2000.
Derrick Jensen is the author of more than 20 books. Jensen's first published book “Listening to the Land: Conversations About Nature, Culture, and Eros”, was a collection of writings he originally published in The Sun in 1995 and the same year with George Draffan and John Osborn he wrote “Railroads and Clearcuts: Legacy of Congress's 1864 Northern Pacific Railroad Land Grant”, “A Language Older than Words” and “The Culture of Make Believe” in 2002, with George Draffan “Strangely Like War: The Global Assault on Forests” in 2003, “Walking on Water: Reading, Writing, and Revolution” in 2004.
Derrick Jensen’s most recent books are “Endgame”, “Deep Green Resistance: Strategy to Save the Planet” and “The Culture of Make Believe” in 2011, “The Derrick Jensen Reader: Writings on Environmental Revolution” in 2012, “The Myth of Human Supremacy” in 2016.
Jensen is a contributor to periodicals including New York Times Magazine, Audubon, and the Sun. Presently, he lives and works on the coast of northern California.
Derrick Jensen was a recipient of Critics' Choice Award for one of America's ten best nature books of 1995, for "Listening to the Land: Conversations About Nature, Culture, and Eros."
In 1998, Derrick won Second Prize in the category of small budget non-profit advertisements, as determined by the Inland Northwest Ad Federation, for the first ad in the "National Forests: Your land, your choice" series.
Jensen’s "A Language Older Than Words" was nominated for Quality Paperback Book Club's New Vision Award in 2000. "The Culture of Make Believe" was one of two finalists for the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize in 2003.
Derrick Jensen was named “Person of the Year” by Press Action for the publication of Endgame in 2006 and in 2008 he was named a “visionary” as one of Utne Reader magazine's “50 Visionaries Who Are Changing the World”.
(From acclaimed author Derrick Jensen comes a prescient, t...)
2011(Putting corporate disregard for ecology on trial, this no...)
2009(In this far-ranging and heartening collection, Derrick Je...)
1995(At once a beautifully poetic memoir and an exploration of...)
2000(Jensen's furthest-reaching book yet, Dreams challenges th...)
2011(In the acclaimed A Language Older Than Words, Jensen diss...)
2012(For years, Derrick Jensen has asked his audiences, "Do yo...)
2011(In this impassioned polemic, radical environmental philos...)
2016(Ever since Gilgamesh cut down the ancient cedar forests o...)
2003(Derrick Jensen takes no prisoners in The Culture of Make ...)
2002(Two of America's most talented activists team up to deliv...)
2007(The long-awaited companion piece to Derrick Jensen's imme...)
2006(In this collection of interviews, Derrick Jensen discusse...)
2008(Remember the days of longing for the hands-on classroom c...)
2004(In this darkly comic novel, the six women of the Knitting...)
2012(A serial killer stalks the streets of Spokane, acting out...)
2009(You could call them the Monkeywrench Gang of the nanotech...)
2004(A scathing indictment of U.S. domestic and foreign policy...)
2010(Old Mrs. Johnson lives alone in the forest and loves to k...)
2010Derrick Jensen considers himself an anti-capitalist, a critic of organized religion (including Buddhism), a critic of science, an anti-racist, and a radical feminist. He is a leading voice of cultural dissent. He explores the nature of injustice, how civilizations devastate the natural world, and how human beings retreat into denial at the destruction of the planet. His writings, thoughts, views, opinions and work questions and criticizes civilization as a whole social system, probing its ingrained values, unrevealed premises and contemporary tie-ups to oppression, genocide and supremacism. Arguing that contemporary culture is destined to collapse due to destruction of the planet, Jensen advocates "dismantling civilization" - but not in a conventional sense.
Quotations:
"The world is being killed. I need to do my part".
"Within this cultural wealth is measured by one's ability to consume and destroy".
"For us to maintain our way of living, we must tell lies to each other and especially to ourselves. The lies are necessary because, without them, many deplorable acts would become impossibilities".
"Like the layers of an onion, under the first lie is another, and under that another, and they all make you cry".
"We cannot hope to create a sustainable culture with any but sustainable souls".
"A primary purpose of the police is to enforce the delusions of those with lots of green paper".
"We must learn how to think like the planet".
"Writing is really very easy. Tap a vein and bleed onto the page. Everything else is just technical".
"We have a need for enchantment that is as deep and devoted as our need for food and water".
"Premise Eight: The needs of the natural world are more important than the needs of the economic system".
"It's no wonder we don't defend the land where we live. We don't live here. We live in television programs and movies and books and with celebrities and in heaven and by rules and laws and abstractions created by people far away and we live anywhere and everywhere except in our particular bodies on this particular land at this particular moment in these particular circumstances".
"So long as we only believe in the justice of the state, of the law-made by those in power, to serve those in power-so long will we continue to be exploited by those in power".
"Stand with me. Stand and fight. I am one, and we would be two. Two more might join and we would be four. When four more joins we will be eight. We will be eight people fighting whom others will join. And then more people. And more. Stand and fight".
"Surely by now, there can be few here who still believe the purpose of government is to protect us from the destructive activities of corporations. At last most of us must understand that the opposite is true: that the primary purpose of government is to protect those who run the economy from the outrage of injured citizens".
"All the mega corporations on the planet make their obscene profits off the labor and suffering of others, with complete disregard for the effects on the workers, environment, and future generations. We have a straightforward proposal: if they want public money, we want public control. It's that simple".
"Learning has to come from doing, not intellectualizing".
"In order to maintain our way of living, we must tell lies to each other, and especially to ourselves".
"A culture that values production over life values the wrong things, because it will produce things at the expense of living beings, human or otherwise".
"To pretend that civilization can exist without destroying its own land base and the land bases and cultures of others is to be entirely ignorant of history, biology, thermodynamics, morality, and self-preservation".
Derrick Jensen is a member of Railroads and Clearcuts Campaign, Center for Respect of Life and Environment, Advisory Board of the Native Forest Network, Advisory Board of Del Norte Association for Cultural Awareness.
