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CORVALLIS, Ore. - Kathleen Dean Moore, distinguished professor of philosophy and director of the Spring Creek Project at Oregon State University, won the Sarah Winnemucca Award for Creative Nonfiction for "The Pine Island Paradox" at the 19th-annual Oregon Books Awards Nov. 11 in Portland.

In the book, published by Milkweed Editions, Moore recalls exploring the shores of the island where her family vacations. Moore's recollections flow into a discussion of the idea of islands and the web of connections that lie beneath the visible surface. She writes about an environmental ethic of caring that extends from families to places experienced with them, of an affection that embraces the human and the natural order.

Awards judge Barbara Lounsberry said of the book, "An artful, moving hymn to connection is Moore's compelling counter to centuries of Western philosophers bent on separations: body from mind, soul from mind, human beings from nature."

The Spring Creek Project gathers together creative people to re-imagine the relationship between humans and nature. Under Moore's leadership, the program sponsors a wide range of activities ranging from informal conversations between poets, philosophers, scientists, and natural resource managers and policy-makers to symposia, dramatic and musical performances to field trips.

The Oregon Book Awards is a program of Literary Arts, a statewide, nonprofit organization that promotes the importance of language as a means to express, explore, and experience the world. Sponsors include the National Endowment for the Arts and Oregon Cultural Trust.