E-Mail: peterlourie@gmavt.net

Brunswick Students Explore the World with Adventure Writer and Photographer Peter Lourie

by Courtney Kennedy, from

the GreenwichPatch

(Greenwich, Conn – November 2, 2011) – Adventure writer and photographer, Peter Lourie took Brunswick Middle and Lower School students on a trip around the world during an action-packed assembly at King Street. Mr. Lourie, who has written 25 books about his global adventures, inspired the boys with first-hand experiences that were full of stuff kids adore: adventure, danger, monkeys, manatees, and, most of all, buried treasure.

“There is adventure in your own back yard,” Lourie said. You just have to go out and find it.”

Mr. Lourie has explored the Amazon jungle and the mountains of Ecuador; journeyed on the Mississippi, the Rio Grande, and the Yukon; navigated the Everglades and the Erie Canal; and traced the trails of Lewis and Clark. On the day of his visit to Brunswick he spoke in detail about being the first in history to canoe the 315-mile journey down New York State's Hudson River -- from its highest pond source at Lake Tear of the Clouds to its mouth at Manhattan's southern tip.

The message laced throughout Mr. Lourie’s presentation wasn’t simply the action-packed adventures he’s taken, but about the stories he captures and writes about while travelling.

“You have to smell, see and experience a place in order to write about it,” said the rugged adventurer. He also emphasized, “…it’s not only OK to write about your feelings, but that emotion is absolutely essential to good writing.” He cited how he had written about the death of his dog and realized he could take sadness and pain and turn it into art by writing a poem.

“Mr. Lourie was a dynamic presenter and our Lower School boys loved his visit. Through storytelling and great photographs, they were introduced to the magic of adventure and writing,” said Katie Signer, Brunswick Head of Lower School. “Whether canoeing, hiking, scuba diving or searching for hidden treasure, Mr. Lourie modeled the importance of curiosity and wonder.”