Cristen Hemingway Jaynes

Experience

Cristen Hemingway Jaynes is a writer of fiction and nonfiction with an MA in Creative Writing from Birkbeck, University of London, and a JD and an Ocean & Coastal Law Certificate from University of Oregon School of Law.

Cristen is passionate about animals and the preservation and expansion of the habitats in which they live. She believes wildlife corridors and bridges are requisite for creating a more equitable planet where animals and humans coexist in harmony, and that rewilding and the reintroduction of native plants and species are essential to achieving a balanced ecosystem.

Cristen believes in eliminating human-made toxins from the environment and ensuring that they don’t make their way into rivers and streams via wastewater or agricultural runoff. She is an advocate for renewable energy, the reduction of carbon emissions, the elimination of plastic waste, the outlawing of “forever chemicals” and eliminating factory farms.

Cristen enjoys going on hikes, especially by rivers, playing chess, cooking and baking with organic ingredients and trying new recipes. She is passionate about exploring new places and is currently working on a novel about her bus and train travels across America and Europe. She is the author of the short story collection The Smallest of Entryways, as well as the travel biography, Ernest’s Way: An International Journey Through Hemingway’s Life.

Cristen is the great-granddaughter of Nobel laureate Ernest Hemingway, who had a storied relationship with animals and the environment, paying homage to their beauty through his writing while also big game hunting. Cristen hopes to expand on and counterbalance this legacy by advocating for the protection of animals and the environment.

What got you into journalism?
I initially began writing journalism as a news and entertainment reporter for my college newspaper, but expanded my interest into environmental journalism after studying environmental law.

What makes you interested in the environment?
I believe the planet is for everyone — plants, animals and humans — and that it needs to be preserved in a more equitable way for future generations.

What’s your favorite topic to cover?
My favorite topic to cover is anything having to do with animals, especially sea creatures, elephants, bison, turtles, animals thought to have been extinct but that have been rediscovered, Florida panthers, Canada lynx, polar bears, endangered species, bees and — who am I kidding? — all animals!

Is there an eco-related book you would recommend to all EcoWatchers?
The Hidden Life of Trees.