Since its debut in 2003, Isotope: A Journal of Literary Nature and Science Writing has sought an expansive vision of explorations of nature and science. Too often, it seems that nature writing is viewed through a narrow lens—either celebration or elegy. And that wild places—an increasingly problematic category—are the most sought-after venues for revealing explorations of the human relationship to the nonhuman world.
We don’t dispute the need to venerate such locales or the need to celebrate and to grieve. It’s worth noting that within the word “isotope” the Greek root “topos” occurs…a reminder of the importance of place.
Isotope honors the tradition of nature writing—while moving beyond it (even challenging it) with a wide range of work that engages such fields as astronomy, artificial intelligence, genetic engineering, sexuality, urban ecosystems, restoration ecology, physics and math.
We are a journal of literary nature and science writing. We are a journal of compelling artwork, poems, lyric and narrative essays, microfiction, short stories and regular features such as, “Soliloquy,” in which we invite a writer or artist to respond to a specific question; “Voice,” in which we feature a long piece or several works by a single writer; and “Portfolio,” in which we display the work of a coherent group of artists or several pieces by a single creator.
Isotope has received national recognition in such venues as Poets & Writers, Utne.com, Best American Science and Nature Writing and Martha Stewart Living Radio’s "The Naturalist’s Datebook.” The acclaim proves that each issue of Isotope offers a much needed prism through which we can come to a more nuanced understanding of “nature, culture, science, muse,” the four small words printed at the bottom of every cover that remind readers of the expansive vision of science and nature explorations to which the magazine is dedicated.
Isotope is supported in part by the following: Department of English at Utah State University :: Caine School of the Arts, USU :: College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, USU :: College of Science, USU :: College of Natural Resources, USU :: Marie Eccles Caine Foundation :: Mountain West Center for Regional Studies :: This project is also supported by a grant from the Utah Arts Council, with funding from the State of Utah and the National Endowment for the Arts, Washington, D.C., which believes that a great nation deserves great art.