Author Salon: Dr. Leslie Kemp Poole

Ages 18+. Using journals and articles by John Muir, Harriet Beecher Stowe, John James Audubon, Zora Neale Hurston and other authors that date back to the early European exploration of the region, Poole retraces their steps. The land they write about is often hard to imagine in today’s Florida, a top destination for tourists filled with almost 22 million residents. These stories show the evolving history of the state and the richness of its natural resources. Poole’s comparisons also point to the people who have been displaced and the ecosystems that have been dramatically altered by exploration and development. Highlighting the Florida that was and the Florida that exists now, Poole brings together historical research, interviews with experts, and her personal experiences to tell a revealing story of the state’s natural history.  

Dr. Leslie Poole is an award-winning journalist and historian and assistant professor of environmental studies at Rollins College. A fourth-generation Floridian, Poole has lived in Winter Park for more than three decades, raising her family and engaging in a variety of community work.