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CORVALLIS - Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Gary Snyder and noted forest ecologist Jerry Franklin will join forces to offer "Lessons from Mount St. Helens," a special presentation commemorating the 25th anniversary of the 1980 eruption.

Their presentation will be held on May 18 at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall (1037 S.W. Broadway) in Portland. It begins at 7:30 p.m., though doors open an hour earlier and audience members will be greeted with images of Mount St. Helens from photographer Gary Braasch.

Tickets for the event may be purchased online at www.literary-arts.org and ticket information also is available by calling 503-227-2583. The event is sponsored by Oregon State University's Spring Creek Project for Ideas, Nature and the Written Word and by Illahee.

During the evening, Snyder and Franklin will share stories, experiences and writings from Mount St. Helens, where both have personal experiences and deep personal histories. They will reflect on themes of destruction and renewal, and on long-term history and future.

"They will bring their different perspectives to analyze what science and humanities have to contribute to our understanding of such places," said Charles Goodrich, program manager for OSU's Spring Creek Project.

"And they will explore how Mount St. Helens informs its 2 million human neighbors' understanding of their place in nature," he added.

Snyder has written 18 books of poetry and prose, and in 1975 was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for "Turtle Island." He has received numerous other awards and fellowships, and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

He will read from his most recent book of poems, "Danger on Peaks."

Franklin has been dubbed by some as the "father of new forestry" for his work in promoting sustainable forest management practices. At one time considered a maverick, his then-unconventional views have now become widely accepted. He recently won the prestigious Heinz Award for the Environment.

He is a graduate and former faculty member of OSU, now on the faculty of the University of Washington.