Leslie Kemp Poole pens Lessons from the Marjories, a column meditating on the legacies of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Marjorie Harris Carr, and Marjory Stoneman Douglas.
Buddy MacKay: A True Florida Marjorie
From the Ocklawaha River to the halls of Congress, Buddy MacKay defended wild places and the people who loved them. He carried forward the legacy of the Marjories through bold action and unrelenting advocacy.
The Tonic of a River Trip
Rivers figured large in the lives of Florida’s three Marjories. Each found joy, direction, and purpose from different waterways. And we are the fortunate inheritors of works inspired by their riverine passions.
‘Who Owns the Creek? The Red Birds I Think’
In 1962, Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring” warned against the overuse of human-made pesticides and chemicals and their potential to harm all living creatures. It was the thought of losing birds that got everyone’s attention because, let’s face it, most people love birds. This avian affection has inspired many people to care about the natural world — including Carson and Florida’s three Marjories.
May Mann Jennings, Florida’s First ‘Marjorie’
May Mann Jennings was the state’s first female political powerhouse, championing topics that made the all-male legislature wince: equal suffrage, city beautification, improvements for the Seminole Tribe, better forestry practices, and Florida’s first state park. She didn’t always win, but at a time when women couldn’t vote, she put these issues (and many more) onto the state’s agenda.
Marjorie Harris Carr Took the Call
A Jacksonville acquaintance had learned that a huge federal project was approved to build a barge canal across the peninsula. Did Marjorie Harris Carr know? Carr, taking that 1962 call at her home in Micanopy, admitted that she didn’t, but promised the woman that she would investigate. That call became her calling.
Our Dinner with Marjorie
When friends came to visit author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings at her rural wooden farmhouse, they could be sure of several things: good conversation, stiff drinks, and a sumptuous meal.
For the Everglades, the Best Way to Care: Go There
A century ago, most Floridians viewed the Everglades as menacing wastelands. As a professor at Rollins College, Leslie Kemp Poole has found that nothing helps her students — and people overall — know and care about the Everglades more than to visit it themselves.
Watching Hurricane Season from the Front Porch
As changing climate conditions cause hurricanes to get larger and move more slowly, author Leslie K. Poole examines the relationships between Floridians and these massive storms.
Searching for Granny’s Phlox
For author Leslie Kemp Poole, phlox offer a wave of nostalgia for her grandmother’s front yard that would explode with the flowers when she was a child.
‘A Unique Perfection’
Author and professor Leslie Kemp Poole shares how Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings reminds us that we need to find our own moments and places of enchantment, however small they are or however brief the experience—especially a flowering tree—and let them enrich our days.