Acknowledgments

I am indebted to fireflies. When I wrote an article about a synchronous-blinking species for the Washington Post Magazine, many readers reached out to let me know that they’d started turning off their porch lights more often. They were curious to discover what they’d been missing out on by not inviting darkness into their own yards, and I was amazed that my story had inspired real-world action that led to reduced light pollution. I appreciate everyone who let me know that story meant something to them. Thanks also to Richard Just and my longtime editor, David Rowell, who has entertained my wild story ideas for nearly twenty years.

Heather Carr has been a steadying force during this long journey through the dark. I’m deeply grateful for her guidance, as well as the support of Molly Friedrich, Lucy Carson, Hannah Brattesani, and Marin Takikawa. This book has received above-and-beyond care from Amy Gash—a thoughtful editor and kind soul who understood this project from the beginning—as well as Betsy Gleick, Debra Linn, Marisol Salaman, Christopher Moisan, Steve Godwin, Martha Cipolla, Brenna Franzitta, Laura Essex, Tom Mis, and others working behind the scenes.

I’m blessed to have Randall and Carolyn Henion as parents. They let me free-roam creeks and forests as a child—and then watched with minimal judgment as I ambled nontraditional career paths as an adult. They have been incomparable guides in every aspect of life. Special thanks to Archer for his willingness to (sometimes) roam mucky places with me. Archer, no matter where you go or how urbane your interests get, I hope you’ll always embrace these living mountains as home.

In the process of working on this book, I was often so wowed by what I found that I had the impulse to immediately reach out to friends because I couldn’t wait to share. There were tidbits in every chapter that made me think, What? I’ve got to tell someone about this! If you ever geeked out with me over salamander eggs or moth behavior, I remember and appreciate your enthusiasm. A special nod to the Lippards, Jaremas, Polings, Marshes, Russells, Peters, Bookwalters, McAllisters, and Penningtons. Also to Matt and the entire Hrenak family.

Lori Williams offered helpful advice when my fieldwork required pivoting, and—in addition to the many gracious individuals who appear in this book—I appreciate the assistance of Caitlin Worth, Dana Soehn, Allison Cochran, Landis Taylor, and Jesse Pope. Science is always evolving, but I’ve worked to synthesize complex information as it is currently understood. Thanks to Christopher Kyba for leading me in the right direction and to John Barentine, Gary Walker, Travis Longcore, and Avalon Owens for providing feedback on early drafts.

I owe a great deal to the editors I have worked with throughout my career, as well as academic colleagues including Joseph Bathanti, Sandy Ballard, Susan Weinberg, Mark Powell, and Betty Conway. I’m grateful to David Joy, Alyssa Tsagong, Sunny Townes, Bethany Jewell Gray, Amy Cooke, Mike Reynolds, and Denise Powell for cheering me on when I needed it. And I applaud my capstone creative writing students for developing a sense of community and revelry that once inspired a passerby to ask if we’d relocated from the drama department.

My time as an Alicia Patterson fellow was formative in my development as a thinker and writer, and I’m grateful to Margaret Engel for seeing me through the challenges of 2020. Night Magic has been supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and I appreciate the work of Doron Weber, Shriya Bhindwale, and Peter DiFranco in facilitating that process.

Thanks to Wendell Berry for allowing me to share his words as an epigraph—and for reminding me that there is great pleasure in corresponding via post. It had been a long time since I’d reached into the dark hollow of a mailbox to find a handwritten message. What a gift to recognize that, when we choose to, we can still conduct business at the speed of poetry—that is to say, the speed of stamps and Wendell Berry.

It’s impossible to know where Night Magic will go from here. The one thing I know for sure is that releasing this book is not an end; it is a beginning. Thank you, dear reader, for being part of Night Magic’s ongoing story.