Somewhere along a back road.
Tom Poland is the author of fourteen books and more than 2,000 magazine features and columns.
Tom writes about the South, its people, culture, land, natural wealth, and beautiful detritus—ruins and abandoned places. He travels back roads looking for forgotten places, captivating people, and vestiges of bygone times. Much of that work finds its way into books, columns, essays, and features.
Writing that evokes a sense of place and fluid, lean prose appeal to him. Favorite writers are James Salter, Cormac McCarthy, Pat Conroy, and James Dickey.
Once upon a time playing football meant the world to him. Come an autumn day in Athens, Georgia, you’ll find him in Sanford Stadium watching the Dawgs play.
Looking forward to reading some of your books.
Really enjoyed “Granddad’s Cow-Charming ’65 Chevy”. Very moving.
Did you teach media arts at Columbia college waaayyyy back when???
Yes, I did.
Dear Mr. Poland,
I just got a copy of your recent book entitled “Carolina Bays.” What a beautiful publication!
You might be interested to know that some 2018-2020 U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) studies have interpreted the Carolina Bays as relict features that developed episodically during the last glaciation. Specifically, they are interpreted as relict thermokarst lakes, which develop as a result of thawing of frozen ground, with subsequent reworking by wind and waves. See: https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2018SE/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/310370
A full-length research paper on the Carolina Bays was recently published in a book entitled “Inland Dunes of North America” (published by Springer).
https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030404970
If you would like for me to send you a pdf copy of this paper, then please send a note to my USGS email address.
Sincerely yours,
Dr. Christopher Swezey
Research Geologist
U.S. Geological Survey
Reston, VA