Robin Wall Kimmerer Books In Order

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

About Robin Wall Kimmerer

Also known as Robin W. Kimmerer, the American writer Robin Wall Kimmerer is well known for her unique and idiosyncratic style of writing. Largely focusing on non-fiction, she mostly writes about the great outdoors, looking at both science and nature in detail. Articulate with an engaging tone, she writes in a style that is very much her own, making advanced concepts seem open and accessible. This has made her hugely popular across the world, appealing to a large global audience of readers from all over, making her work universal in the process.

Her interest and passion for the environment can be felt upon each and every page, as she writes compellingly about her subject with great precision. Putting a lot of research into each of her books, she really manages to bring the subject to life for her audience, which can be seen through her worldwide following. Reaching readers who previously didn’t have an interest in the subject, she’s become a presence not only in the environmental scene, but beyond as well. From this she has worked to establish her own brand, creating a name for herself that is quite unlike any other.

Often looking at her own past and cultural heritage, she draws inspiration from the world around her, putting it all back into her work. This has seen her create highly authentic and interesting books that really resonate, regardless of where the reader’s from. Setting herself apart, she also teaches, lecturing at prestigious universities, speaking about her subject in even greater and learned detail. This is something that she’ll continue to do for quite some time to come, as there’s still a lot more to come yet.

Early and Personal Life

Born in 1953 in upstate New York, Robin Wall Kimmerer would grow up in the countryside with her parents, Patricia and Robert Wall. With Potawatomi heritage, she would soon begin to reconnect with her cultural roots and heritage, finding her own way in the world. Becoming a part of the Potawatomi Nation, this would come to heavily influence both her and her environmental work and writing.

Gaining a bachelor’s degree in botany in 1975, she would go on to work as a microbiologist for Bausch and Lamb. Following this she would go on to receive a master’s degree in botany in 1979, attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison, then getting a PhD in 1983 in plant ecology. Still teaching and writing to this very day, she writes about the environment and tribal communities, and will continue to do so for a long time yet.

Writing Career

Starting out in education, Robin Wall Kimmerer would make a name for herself in academia teaching on environmentalism and botany. This would lead to her becoming a recognized figure, working within different projects, as she’d become highly sought after. Speaking at many different functions and gatherings, this would soon see her heading into writing extensively on the subject too.

Producing her first book in 2003 she would publish the non-fiction title ‘Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses.’ This would go on to receive the John Burroughs Medal, becoming a hugely popular, which she’d later follow up with ‘Braiding Sweetgrass’ in 2013, also going on to become popular worldwide. Gaining a lot acclaim for her work, she would get an honorary degree from the College of Atlantic in 2020 for Human Ecology.

Gathering Moss

This would first be released through the ‘Oregon State University Press’ label, and it would be Robin Wall Kimmerer’s first novel published. A non-fiction title it would encapsulate many of her key ideas and beliefs, relating them in an easy to follow manner and narrative. The book not only looks at nature, but the entire make-up of the environment, what it means, and just how important it is.

Not so much a book on the scientific make-up of moss, this looks at its place within the environment, and how it has come to be. Studying its interplay with the world around it, Kimmerer analyzes her own relationship with moss, and how it can effect humanity. The breakdown of what it means as an organism, the book looks into its cultural history too, seeing how it has shaped the past as well. Encapsulating the world around it, the book charts everything surrounding moss, seeing how it has shaped its own entire world.

This book really broke down a subject that otherwise goes overlooked, dealing with it with sincerity and warmth. Studying moss in great detail, it brings in a number of deeper ideas, showing it as a metaphor for something even greater. Making her work accessible to everyone, Kimmerer opens up a lot of space for her readers to explore, engaging with ideas that they may not have engaged with before.

Braiding Sweetgrass

Initially brought out in 2013 on the 15th of October, this would first come out through the ‘Milkweed Editions’ publishing imprint. Its own stand-alone non-fiction book, it would manage to capture a real sense of the environment and what it means. Not a part of any series, it’s its own title, simply expanding upon many of the ideas that Kimmerer has spoken about before.

Speaking directly from her own perspective, Robin Wall Kimmerer looks at science and nature, seeing how it’s made up over history. Studying this through her own eyes, she brings her personality to the book, seeing what animal and plants have to teach humanity. Seeking to awake an environmental consciousness within the reader, she analyzes the relationship between people and nature. This she does as a member of the one and only Citizen Potawatomi Nation, looking at her own cultural roots in relation to nature and science.

It’s easy to see why this book was so well received upon its release, winning it not just awards, but scores of fans worldwide too. As a work of non-fiction it’s heaped with layers of metaphorical meaning,, bringing it to life for the reader in the process. Leaving a legacy, it’s a must for not only fans of Kimmerer as a writer, but for readers looking to learn more on a subject they wouldn’t have otherwise considered.