Griz Read 2017

The purpose of the Griz Read is to provide new students with a common connection through a thought-provoking book. Each year, a committee of faculty, staff, and students select a book from nominations submitted by the campus community.

All members of the campus community, especially first-year students, are encouraged to read the book and participate in Griz Read events. First-year students are invited to participate in the Griz Read events and essay contest.

We believe that books forge powerful bonds and we are excited to begin the campus discussion this year!

Video: Lentil Underground Book Trailer

Griz Read 2017

Set in the farm belt of red state America, far from the farmer’s markets and haute cuisine of coastal cities, Lentil Underground confronts the global food system in one of the little known rural communities that will determine its fate.

From the heart of Big Sky Country comes this inspiring story of a handful of colorful pioneers who have successfully bucked the chemically-based food chain and the entrenched power of agribusiness’s one percent, by stubbornly banding together. 

Unearthing the deep roots of this movement, Lentil Underground introduces readers to a memorable cast of characters, from gun-toting libertarians and Christian homesteaders to peace-sign-waving environmental activists. 

Journalist and native Montanan Liz Carlisle weaves an eye-opening and richly reported narrative that will be welcomed by readers of food and farm memoirs, as well as everyone concerned with the future of American agriculture and natural food in an increasingly uncertain world.

Griz Read Events

Author Liz Carlisle lecture:

  • Thursday, September 21 at 8pm in the Dennison Theatre
  • free and open to the public

First-year student Q&A with the author:

  • Friday, September 22, 11am - 12pm in the Payne Family Native American Center
  • Enjoy a lunch of Montana lentils during the discussion!

Griz Read Student Contests

As part of the Griz Read, we invite first-year students to participate in the Writing Contest and/or Art Contest

Griz Read Writing Contest

  • Submit an essay in response to one of the prompts provided. These prompts invite you to engage with the ideas presented in Lentil Underground and to reflect on how those ideas can be put to use.
  • Cash prizes of $125 will be awarded to four writers of the most compelling essays, and the essays themselves (with the authors’ permission) will be posted to the Griz Read webpage.
  • Congratulations to the winners of the Griz Read Writing Contest! Read their entries below:

Griz Read Art Contest

  • Submit creative artwork (in any medium) inspired by Lentil Underground.
  • Submissions will be displayed in the Davidson Honors College from November 6-20.
  • Students will vote for their favorite pieces.
  • Winners will receive a cash prize up to $125 and be recognized at a private catered reception in December.
  • The DEADLINE for entries is Friday, November 3.

The Author

Liz Carlisle is a Lecturer in the School of Earth, Energy, and Environmental Sciences at Stanford University, where she teaches courses on food and agriculture, sustainability transition, and environmental communication.

She holds a Ph.D. in Geography from UC Berkeley and a B.A. from Harvard University, and she formerly served as Legislative Correspondent for Agriculture and Natural Resources in the Office of U.S. Senator Jon Tester.  

Recognized for her academic writing with the Elsevier Atlas Award, which honors research with social impact, Liz has also published numerous pieces for general audience readers, in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Business Insider, and Stanford Social Innovation Review. Lentil Underground, which chronicles the sustainable agriculture movement in her home state of Montana, is her first book.

Launch UM virtual tour.