The Biologist, Poet
and Funeral Director

In this documentary, three dedicated human beings deal with issues of life and death: 1) Kerry Woods teaches biology and environmental studies at Bennington College, Vermont, and over a period of 30 years has recorded the ravages wrought on the last remaining virgin forests in Northern Michigan. 2) In his first three books of poetry, Stephen Sandy, a former professor and poet, celebrated nature; but in the seven books and hundreds of poems that followed, his work has focused more and more on the human problems of love and the overall meaning of life and death. 3) Throughout her long career in the small village of Cambridge, New York, the local funeral director, Elizabeth Ross, has shown her compassion and sensitivity for the people she has buried, and those who remain behind. Her craft as undertaker and embalmer has been sustained and nourished by her faith. With understanding, feeling and compassion, these three individuals, throughout the year, and on a daily basis, experience the good, bad, and beautiful that life has to offer. Whether teaching, writing poems, or talking to loved-ones who have sustained the loss of a family member, they draw meaning and sustenance from their professions. Transitions in nature during the four seasons of the year, in and around Cambridge, New York, serve as the background canvas for this sensitive program.

1 x 60 minutes / Upconverted HD Format

Produced by Harvey Edwards.