Carl Safina ’77
Carl Safina’s lyrical non-fiction writing explores how humans are changing the living world, and what the changes mean for non-human beings and for us all.
His work fuses scientific understanding, emotional connection, and a moral call to action.
His writing has won a MacArthur Genius prize; Pew, Guggenheim, and National Science Foundation Fellowships; book awards from Lannan, Orion, and the National Academies; and the John Burroughs, James Beard, and George Rabb medals.
He grew up raising pigeons, training hawks and owls, and spending as many days and nights in the woods and on the water as he could.
Safina is now the first Endowed Professor for Nature and Humanity at Stony Brook University and is founding president of the not-for-profit Safina Center.
He hosted the PBS series Saving the Ocean, which can be viewed free at PBS.org.
His writing appears in The New York Times, TIME, The Guardian, Audubon, Yale e360, and National Geographic, and on the Web at Huffington Post, CNN.com, Medium, and elsewhere. Carl is the author of ten books including the classic Song for the Blue Ocean, as well as New York Times Bestseller Beyond Words; What Animals Think and Feel.
His most recent book is Becoming Wild; How Animal Cultures Raise Families, Create Beauty, and Achieve Peace.
He lives on Long Island, New York, with his wife Patricia and their dogs and feathered friends.
Publications
Becoming Wild: How Animal Cultures Raise Families, Create Beauty, and Achieve Peace
Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel
A Sea in Flames: The Deepwater Horizon Blowout
The View from Lazy Point: A Natural Year in an Unnatural World
Song For the Blue Ocean
Eye of the Albatross: Visions for Hope and Survival
Voyage of the Turtle: In Pursuit of the Earth’s Last Dinosaur