Derrick Jensen

This article is about the environmental activist. For the football player, see Derrick Jensen (American football).

Derrick Jensen (born December 19, 1960) is an American ecophilosopher, writer, author and environmentalist in the anarcho-primitivist tradition,^[4][5] though he rejects the label "anarchist". Utne Reader named Jensen among "50 Visionaries Who Are Changing the World" in 2008,^[6] and Democracy Now! says that he "has been called the poet-philosopher of the ecology movement".^[7]

Lierre Keith (left) and Jensen (right) with Deep Green Resistance at Occupy Oakland in 2011

Derrick Jensen
Derrick Jensen (2020)
Born	(1960-12-19) December 19, 1960 (age 64) Nebraska, United States[1]
Occupation	Writer author activist
Language	English
Education	Colorado School of Mines (BSc) Eastern Washington University (MFA)
Subject	Environmentalism Industrialisation Philosophy Ecocide Colonialism Patriarchy Criticism of queer theory [2][3]
Website
derrickjensen.org

Jensen is a critic of the mainstream environmental movement's focus on preserving civilization and technology over preserving the natural world.^[8] He specifically challenges the lifestyle changes and individualistic solutions broadly advocated, considering them drastically inadequate to the global scale of environmental catastrophe.^[9] Instead, he promotes civil disobedience, radical activism, and dismantling infrastructure on a massive level in order to halt what he has called "the murder of the planet".^[8]

Along with Lierre Keith, Jensen is a founder and leader within Deep Green Resistance.

His belief, and the organization's position, that women-only spaces should exclude trans women has drawn criticism.^[10][8]

Jensen lives in Crescent City, California.^[1]

Selected works

• with Draffan, George; Osborn, John (1995). Listening to the land: Conversations about nature, culture, and Eros. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books. ISBN 0-87156-417-3. OCLC 31046167. Republished by Chelsea Green in 2004 with ISBN 978-1-931498-56-2.
• with Draffan, George; Osborn, John (1995). Railroads and clearcuts: Legacy of Congress's 1864 Northern Pacific Railroad land grant. Spokane, Wash. Sandpoint, Idaho: Inland Empire Public Lands Council / Keokee Company Publishing. ISBN 1-879628-08-2. OCLC 32546308.
• — (2000). A language older than words. New York: Context Books. ISBN 1-893956-03-2. OCLC 44078542. Republished by Chelsea Green in 2004 with ISBN 978-1-931498-55-5.
• — (2002). The culture of make believe. New York: Context Books. ISBN 1-893956-28-8. OCLC 48761707. Republished by Chelsea Green in 2004 with ISBN 978-1-931498-57-9.
• with Draffan, George (2003). Strangely like war: The global assault on forests. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green. ISBN 978-1-931498-45-6. OCLC 52464656.
• with Draffan, George (2004). Welcome to the machine: Science, surveillance, and the culture of control. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green. ISBN 1-931498-52-0. OCLC 54966302.
• — (2005). Walking on water: reading, writing, and revolution. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green. ISBN 978-1-931498-78-4. OCLC 58051191.
• — (2006). Endgame, Volume 1: The Problem of Civilization. New York: Seven Stories Press. ISBN 1-58322-730-X. OCLC 64098342.
• — (2006). Endgame, Volume 2: Resistance., Seven Stories Press, ISBN 1-58322-724-5
• with Tweedy-Holmes, Karen (2007). Thought to exist in the wild: Awakening from the nightmare of zoos. Santa Cruz, CA: No Voice Unheard. ISBN 978-0-9728387-1-9. OCLC 137341817.
• — (2007). Thought to exist in the wild: Awakening from the nightmare of zoos. Santa Cruz, CA: No Voice Unheard. ISBN 978-0-9728387-1-9. OCLC 137341817.
• with McMillan, Stephanie (2007). As the world burns: 50 simple things you can do to stay in denial. New York: Seven Stories Press. ISBN 978-1-58322-777-0. OCLC 154705030.
• — (2008). How shall I live my life? On liberating the earth from civilization. Oakland, Calif: PM Press. ISBN 978-1-60486-003-0. OCLC 568066001.
• with McBay, Aric (2009). What we leave behind. New York: Seven Stories Press. ISBN 978-1-58322-867-8. OCLC 261176357.
• — (2009). Songs of the dead. Crescent City, CA: Flashpoint Press/PM Press. ISBN 978-1-60486-044-3. OCLC 435639513.
• — (2010). Lives less valuable: A novel (in French). Oakland, Calif. London: PM Press Turnaround distributor. ISBN 978-1-60486-045-0. OCLC 611595324.
• — (2010). Resistance against empire. Crescent City, Calif. Oakland, CA: Flashpoint Press PM. ISBN 978-1-60486-046-7. OCLC 651663537.
• with McMillan, Stephanie (2010). Mischief in the forest: A yarn yarn. Oakland, Calif. London: PM Press. ISBN 978-1-60486-081-8. OCLC 700207114.
• — (2011). Dreams. New York: Seven Stories Press. ISBN 978-1-58322-930-9. OCLC 669755057.
• with McBay, Aric; Keith, Lierre (2011). Deep green resistance: Strategy to save the planet. New York: Seven Stories Press. ISBN 978-1-58322-929-3. OCLC 601132927. (Also available to read online in full, for free, legally on the book's official website Deepgreenresistance.net ^[11])
• — (2011). Truths among us: Conversations on building a new culture. Oakland, CA: PM Press. ISBN 978-1-60486-299-7. OCLC 756915435.
• — (2012). Keith, Lierre (ed.). The Derrick Jensen reader: Writings on environmental revolution. New York: Seven Stories Press. ISBN 978-1-60980-404-6. OCLC 753625923.
• with McMillan, Stephanie (2012). The knitting circle rapist annihilation squad. Chicago: PM Press. ISBN 978-1-60486-596-7. OCLC 811505057.
• with Keith, Lierre, eds. (2012). Earth at risk: Building a resistance movement to save the planet. PM Press. ISBN 978-1-60486-674-2.
• — (2016). The myth of human supremacy. New York, NY: Seven Stories Press. ISBN 978-1-60980-678-1. OCLC 914290213.
• — (2017). Monsters: Short stories. Oakland, CA: PM Press. ISBN 978-1-62963-436-4. OCLC 987687487.
• — (2018). Anarchism and the Politics of Violation. Seven Stories Press. ISBN 978-1-60980-877-8. OCLC 1023053668. (unpublished) Release cancelled by Seven Stories Press. According to Jansen, Seven Stories told him that the book is "a misuse of truth" and had it pulled because Jensen, in his own words, "dared to critique queer theory".^[12][13]
• —; Keith, Lierre; Wilbert, Max (2021). Bright Green Lies: How the Environmental Movement Lost Its Way and What We Can Do About It. Monkfish. ISBN 978-1-94862-639-2.

References

1. Cejnar, Jessica (March 4, 2016). "Prolific author calls Crescent City home". derrickjensen.org. Del Norte Triplicate.
2. Jensen, Derrick (March 10, 2019). This Is Your Brain On Censorship. YouTube (Podcast). As people may know, I had a book that was meant to come out in November, and the publisher in August pulled the book. And he pulled the book because I dared to critique Queer Theory. And he didn't even cite anything that I had said. He said "I can't find anything you've said that is inaccurate, but it is" - to put it in his words - "a misuse of truth to say these things", whatever that means.
3. McCain, Robert Stacy (September 25, 2019). "Queer Theory Pedophilia Jeopardy". The Other McCain.
4. Sean Esbjörn-Hargens; Michael E. Zimmerman (2009). Integral ecology: Uniting multiple perspectives on the natural world. p. 492. Anarcho-primitivists ... See ... Derrick Jensen's recent two-volume End-Game
5. Bob Torres (2007). Making a killing: the political economy of animal rights. p. 68. Despite the problems and flaws with anarcho-primitivist thinking like Jensen's ...
6. "50 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World". October 13, 2008. Archived from the original on August 7, 2021. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
7. Jensen, Derrick (November 26, 2010). "Author and Activist Derrick Jensen: "The Dominant Culture is Killing the Planet ... It's Very Important for Us to Start to Build a Culture of Resistance"". Democracy Now! (Interview). Interviewed by Amy Goodman.
8. Holzman, Jael (2022). "How a Fight over Transgender Rights Derailed Environmentalists in Nevada". Politico. Politico LLC.
9. Kateman, Brian (2022). "To Save The Planet, We Need Systemic Change—But Your Individual Choices Still Matter". Forbes.
10. Camilla Mortensen (March 8, 2018). "Controversial Speaker Sparks Outcry". Eugene Weekly. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
11. https://deepgreenresistance.net/
12. Jensen, Derrick (March 10, 2019). This Is Your Brain On Censorship. YouTube (Podcast). As people may know, I had a book that was meant to come out in November, and the publisher in August pulled the book. And he pulled the book because I dared to critique Queer Theory. And he didn't even cite anything that I had said. He said "I can't find anything you've said that is inaccurate, but it is" - to put it in his words - "a misuse of truth to say these things", whatever that means.
13. McCain, Robert Stacy (September 25, 2019). "Queer Theory Pedophilia Jeopardy". The Other McCain.

Further reading

• Official website
• Jensen, Derrick (November 26, 2010). "Author and Activist Derrick Jensen: "The Dominant Culture is Killing the Planet ... It's Very Important for Us to Start to Build a Culture of Resistance"". Democracy Now! (Interview). Interviewed by Amy Goodman. Archived from the original on November 15, 2021. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
• Lierre Keith, ed. (2012). The Derrick Jensen Reader: Writings on Environmental Revolution. Seven Stories Press. ISBN 9781609804053. Archived from the original on November 15, 2021. Retrieved October 31, 2020.