‘Animals Taught Me Everything’: Pam Houston shares what she knows 

Colorado-based award-winning author and teacher Pam Houston will discuss her new book, “Animals Taught Me Everything,” from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Nov. 11 at Pitkin County Library. 

Released on Oct. 13, the book is a collection of 15 personal essays exploring what animals can teach humans about love, mortality, presence and the relationship with Earth. Houston shares what different encounters with Icelandic mares, Irish wolfhounds, elephants and a desert-adapted lioness have taught her about joy, rest, play, love and grief. 

“The first big thing is that I’ve sort of talked to animals all my life, and I think many of us do,” she said. “I think they talk back.” 

Animals communicate through their bodies using their ears, eyes, tails and shoulders, she emphasized.

She said she plans to share a powerful tale about roaming with Icelandic horses and a breeder’s lesson that moved her so deeply, she knew it could become the foundation for a book.

Learning to rest is one of the most challenging lessons animals have taught Houston, according to her. But she’s still watching and learning.

Aspen local Mitzi Rapkin, host of “First Draft: A Dialogue on Writing,” will lead the 45-minute discussion as part of a live podcast recording. The conversation will include Rapkin’s seven signature podcast questions, followed by an audience Q&A. 

Alpenglow Books and Gifts will provide copies of the book for sale, and Houston will continue to answer individual questions as she signs them.

“I know that this book has a lot of tales of different animals that have influenced Houston’s life. I think that people in Roaring Fork Valley also really love animals and the natural world, so it seemed like a good fit to bring her here,” Rapkin said. “I’m just so honored that she’s willing to come. I’m so committed to opening up opportunities for people to have literary experiences for free in this valley.”

Houston’s also known for writing about themes of the West, nature, female empowerment and relationships. Her books include the short-story collection “Cowboys Are My Weakness” (1992), “Deep Creek: Finding Hope in the High Country” and “Without Exception: Reclaiming Abortion, Personhood and Freedom” (2024). 

Houston has a long history with Aspen’s literary community. She has taught numerous times at the Aspen Writers’ Foundation, now known as Aspen Words. She lives with a variety of animals on a homestead near the headwaters of the Rio Grande in Colorado and is a professor of English at the University of California, Davis, also co-founding the nonprofit literary organization Writing By Writers.

For more information, visit pitcolib.org/library-events/animals-taught-me-everything-conversation-author-pam-houston-mitzi-rapkin-podcast.