The Journal

Issue date: 9/6/07 Section: News

Don Corrigan, a communications and journalism instructor at Webster University, spoke recently at a Brown Bag Lecture and signing for his new book, "Show Me…Natural Wonders: A Guide to Scenic Treasures in the Missouri Region."

Corrigan praised the people of Missouri for their support of environmental conservation and said he hoped his book, a guide to nature sites around Missouri, will inspire more people to visit the natural wonders of the state.

The Aug. 30 lecture, sponsored by the Environmental Studies Committee, filled the University Center Sunnen Lounge.

He also gave a brief discussion of what it was like collaborating with his illustrator, Ed Thias. Corrigan discussed some of the 90 locations written about in the book, including Elephant Rocks State Park and Johnson's Shut-Ins, two of the most popular natural attractions in Missouri.

Corrigan said he was pleased by the attendance of the lecture and the sales of the book.

"The folks at Reedy Publishing were very surprised at the sales after just 10 weeks," he said, referring to the first printing on June 4. "They said that pretty soon they are going to do a second printing."

Despite the long hours he spent writing it, Corrigan doesn't consider the effort that went into the book as work.

"It's more a labor of love than anything, and I hope that people can realize that when they are reading it," Corrigan said.

Corrigan said the genesis for this book was an unusual one. It began as research for a novel about the politics of environmental reporting.

After writing the first three chapters of the novel, he realized that the profiles he was writing as practice would make an excellent book by themselves.

When he decided to begin working on a guide to Missouri's natural beauty, Corrigan contacted his illustrator, whose zest for the project equaled or exceeded Corrigan's own.

"When Ed got on board with this, he just went nuts," Corrigan said. "He started doing all these illustrations for places that I hadn't even written about yet. When I went and wrote about those places, he actually had to back up and redraw some of them so they fit the subject matter better."

Corrigan also has several other ideas in the works, including a possible sequel to "Show Me...Natural Wonders."

"I always have at least two or three ideas floating around at any given time. Usually, one just takes off on its own," he said.

Continued...

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