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Eva Saulitis
Born
Eva Lucia Saulitis

May 10, 1963
The Bronx, New York
DiedJanuary 16, 2016
Homer, Alaska
Occupation(s)Marine biologist, poet

Eva Lucia Saulitis(May 10, 1963 – January 16, 2016) was an American marine biologist and poet, based in Alaska.

Early life and education

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Saulitis was born in the Bronx and raisedSilver Creek, New York,[1]the daughter ofLatvianimmigrants Janis (John) Saulitis and Asja Ivins Saulitis.[2]She studiedoboeatNorthwestern University,before changing schools and majors to complete a bachelor's degree in environmental science atSyracuse SUNY ESF (Environmental Science and Forestry).She earned a master's degree in marine biology at theUniversity of Alaska Fairbanksin 1993, and a second master's degree, in creative writing, in 1999.[3]

Career

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Saulitis studied pods oforcasinPrince William Sound.[4][5]Saulitis taught creative writing atKenai Peninsula College,and in theUniversity of Alaska Anchorage'sMFAprogram.[6]She was one of the founders of the Kachemak Bay Writers' Conference,[3]and co-founder of the North Gulf Oceanic Society.[7]She was involved in impact studies and restoration efforts following the 1989Exxon Valdez oil spill.[8][9]

In 2013, Saulitis received the Alaska Governor's Award for the Arts and Humanities.[10]In 2015, she was awarded the Homer Arts Council's Lifetime Achievement Award.[3]

Publications

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Marine biology

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  • "Foraging Strategies of Sympatric Killer Whale (Orcinis orca)Populations in Prince William Sound, Alaska "(2000, with Craig Matkin, Lance Barrett-Lennard, Kathy Heise, and Graeme Ellis)[11]
  • "Distribution of Killer Whale Pods in Prince William Sound, Alaska, 1984-1996" (2001, with D. Scheel and Craig Matkin)[12]
  • "Examining the evidence for killer whale predation on Steller sea lions in British Columbia and Alaska" (2003, with Kathy Heise, Lance Barrett-Lennard, Craig Matkin and David Bain)[13]
  • "Vocal repertoire and acoustic behavior of the isolated AT1 killer whale subpopulation in southern Alaska" (2005, with Craig Matkin and Francis H. Fay)[14]
  • "Predation on gray whales and prolonged feeding on submerged carcasses by transient killer whales at Unimak Island, Alaska" (2011, with Lance Barrett-Lennard, Craig Matkin, John W. Durban, and David Ellifrit)[15]
  • "Life history and population dynamics of southern Alaska resident killer whales (Orcinus orca) "(2014, with Craig Matkin, J. Ward Testa, and Graeme Ellis)[16]

Poetry, memoir, essays

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  • "Ghosts of the Island" (1998, essay)[17]
  • Leaving Resurrection: Chronicles of a Whale Scientist(2008, essays)[18]
  • Many Ways to Say It(2012, poetry)[19]
  • Into Great Silence: A Memoir of Discovery and Loss Among Vanishing Orcas(2013, memoir)[20]
  • Prayer in Wind(2015, poetry)
  • Becoming Earth(2016, essays, published posthumously)[21]

Personal life and legacy

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Saulitis and her husband, biologist Craig Matkin, had homes in Alaska and in Hawai'i.[22][23]She died in 2016, aged 52, from breast cancer, at her home inHomer, Alaska.In preparation for her own death, she and her family built her coffin together, woven from branches and grasses found in their surroundings.[24]She wrote, in her final message to her loved ones, "It was a good day to die, because it was such a good life to have lived." A scholarship fund at the University of Alaska Anchorage was named for Saulitis.[3][25]In 2019, Randon Billings Noble ofThe Rumpusrecommended Saulitis'sLeaving Resurrectionin a list titled "What to Read When You’re Haunted".[26]

References

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  1. ^Saulitis, Eva (2017)."In The Body That Once Was Mine".The Sun Magazine.RetrievedJuly 9,2022.
  2. ^"Eva Lucia Saulitis Obituary".Chautauqua Today.January 24, 2016.RetrievedJuly 9,2022.
  3. ^abcd"Eva Lucia Saulitis (obituary)".Juneau Empire, via Legacy.January 26, 2016.RetrievedJuly 9,2022.
  4. ^"Eva Saulitis".Orion Magazine.RetrievedJuly 9,2022.
  5. ^Genoways, Ted (January 20, 2016)."The Woman Who Loves Orcas".NRDC.RetrievedJuly 9,2022.
  6. ^"Eva Saulitis".Alaska Arts and Culture Foundation.RetrievedJuly 9,2022.
  7. ^"Eva Saulitis".Poetry Foundation.July 9, 2022.RetrievedJuly 9,2022.
  8. ^Scheel, David, Graeme Ellis, Lance Barrett Lennard, Eva Saulitis, and A. K. Homer."Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Restoration Project Annual Report."(1998).
  9. ^Hopkins, Kyle (February 15, 2009)."Killer Whales Dwindling Since Spill, Scientists Say".The Park City Daily News.pp. C4.RetrievedJuly 9,2022– via Newspapers.
  10. ^"Eva Saulitis".Red Hen Press.February 14, 2020.RetrievedJuly 9,2022.
  11. ^Saulitis, Eva; Matkin, Craig; Barrett-Lennard, Lance; Heise, Kathy; Ellis, Graeme (January 2000).""Foraging Strategies of Sympatric Killer Whale (Orcinis orca) Populations in Prince William Sound, Alaska"".Marine Mammal Science.16(1): 94–109.Bibcode:2000MMamS..16...94S.doi:10.1111/j.1748-7692.2000.tb00906.x.ISSN0824-0469.
  12. ^Scheel, D.; Matkin, Craig O.; Saulitis, Eva (July 2001).""Distribution of Killer Whale Pods in Prince William Sound, Alaska, 1984–1996"".Marine Mammal Science.17(3): 555–569.Bibcode:2001MMamS..17..555S.doi:10.1111/j.1748-7692.2001.tb01004.x.ISSN0824-0469.
  13. ^Heise, Kathy, Lance G. Barrett-Lennard, Eva Saulitis, Craig Matkin, and David Bain."Examining the evidence for killer whale predation on Steller sea lions in British Columbia and Alaska."Aquatic Mammals29, no. 3 (2003): 325–334.
  14. ^Saulitis, Eva L; Matkin, Craig O; Fay, Francis H (August 1, 2005)."Vocal repertoire and acoustic behavior of the isolated AT1 killer whale subpopulation in southern Alaska".Canadian Journal of Zoology.83(8): 1015–1029.doi:10.1139/z05-089.ISSN0008-4301.
  15. ^Barrett-Lennard, Lance G.; Matkin, Craig O.; Durban, John W.; Saulitis, Eva L.; Ellifrit, David (January 17, 2011)."Predation on gray whales and prolonged feeding on submerged carcasses by transient killer whales at Unimak Island, Alaska".Marine Ecology Progress Series.421:229–241.Bibcode:2011MEPS..421..229B.doi:10.3354/meps08906.ISSN0171-8630.
  16. ^Matkin, Craig O.; Ward Testa, J.; Ellis, Graeme M.; Saulitis, Eva L. (April 2014)."Life history and population dynamics of southern Alaska resident killer whales ( Orcinus orca )".Marine Mammal Science.30(2): 460–479.Bibcode:2014MMamS..30..460M.doi:10.1111/mms.12049.
  17. ^Saulitis, Eva (1998)."Ghosts of the Island".Prairie Schooner.72(3): 79–90.ISSN0032-6682.JSTOR40637092.
  18. ^Saulitis, Eva (2012).Leaving Resurrection: Chronicles of a Whale Scientist.ReadHowYouWant, Limited.ISBN978-1-4596-4680-3.
  19. ^Saulitis, Eva (2012).Many Ways to Say It.Red Hen Press.ISBN978-1-59709-242-5.
  20. ^Sessoms, Hallie (February 6, 2017)."A Life with Whales".American Scientist.RetrievedJuly 9,2022.
  21. ^Saulitis, Eva (2016).Becoming Earth.Boreal Books.ISBN978-1-59709-902-8.
  22. ^Saulitis, Eva (August 2015)."When No One Is Watching".The Sun Magazine.RetrievedJuly 9,2022.
  23. ^"Two Alaska Authors Share Secrets of the Craft".The Honolulu Advertiser.January 8, 2008. p. 35.RetrievedJuly 9,2022– via Newspapers.
  24. ^Wohlforth, Charles (January 20, 2016)."Homer writer Eva Saulitis gracefully authored the process of her death".Anchorage Daily News.RetrievedJuly 9,2022.
  25. ^"Eva Saulitis Memorial Scholarship".University of Alaska Scholarship Opportunities.RetrievedJuly 9,2022.
  26. ^Noble, Randon Billings (October 4, 2019)."What to Read When You're Haunted".The Rumpus.net.RetrievedJuly 9,2022.
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