The call for submissions for Volume 24: About Time closed on December 31, 2017.

The adult mayfly has a lifespan of less than 24 hours, while bristlecone pines can live thousands of years. Geological time works at even grander scales. How do vastly different species and systems experience time? And how do we, as human practitioners of environmental work?

For our next volume, Whole Terrain seeks creative works that explore the multitude of meanings and perspectives on the theme About Time. Potential topics include, but are in no way limited to:

• Restoration ecologists seek to return natural systems to a “natural” or “pristine” state. How do we decide which era of an ecosystem’s history constitutes a “pristine” time?
• There is growing interest in resurrecting extinct species such as mammoths and saber-toothed tigers. If we pursue this so-called “de-extinction,” are we stopping time, resetting the clock, or racing toward a new complication?
• As human beings, can we truly comprehend the magnitude of ecological loss that has occurred over the course of many generations, or do we suffer from a collective ecological amnesia?
• Global environmental history includes a significant alteration of species composition between what is observed today and recorded history. This corresponds to a mere fraction of the earth’s past when viewed through the lens of deep time, an almost incomprehensible scale.
• Climate change, species extinction, resource extractions: take your pick. Isn’t it about time to realize the effect of human influence on our planet?

Representative of the concept of deep time, the Iroquois Nation and many other religious and ethical systems consider the impact of one’s actions on the seventh generation from now, but throughout the world, rapid economic growth has occurred at the expense of future generations and natural resources. Is there still time to reverse this destruction?

Volume 24 of Whole Terrain, an annual print journal published by Antioch University New England, seeks original submissions that consider the theme of About Time in the context of environmental practice. We welcome essays, personal reflections, journalism, short fiction, creative non-fiction, visual art, graphic novel excerpts, and poetry. Online submission is preferred.