Past public advocate, John Cardwell, turns to poetry and prose

Special to The Herald-Times

John Cardwell was earning his degree in social studies education at Indiana University in the 1970s; he also was working on his parents' farm. Having grown up on that farm, he knew about flora, fauna and other nature. So when his public-policy career started draining him and he'd "gotten sick of writing deadly serious policy papers," he tasked his brain (and heart) to come up with poetry and prose instead.

Cardwell's latest book, his sixth, is "Limestone & Leaves." Humans need to plunder less and plant more, he believes. This collection of poetry and prose describes Cardwell's lifelong concern for the environment.

"We have to do everything possible to engage in dialog about what we're doing to the environment," he said in a recent phone call. "If we don't,