Literature Network » Henry David Thoreau

Winter tracings and transcendental leaps: Henry Thoreau's skating.

Content courtesy of

From: Papers on Language & Literature
Date: 19930922
Author:Marshall, Ian

Henry David Thoreau often went ice skating on the Concord River with the Concord Transcendentalists and, though skating only appears once in his works, Thoreau's journal is filled with descriptions. Skating was both a freedom from responsibility and an expansion of his study of nature. Thoreau described his experiences visually, aurally and spiritually. He approached skating through both a poetic and scientific frame of mind, using the properties of ice skating and ice as a connection to self, nature and the past.

Good writing is a kind of skating which carries off the performer

...

Read the rest of this article with a Free Trial at HighBeam Research.

Other Articles on Henry David Thoreau

About Our Articles: We've partnered with Highbeam Research to provide these article excerpts for your research needs. However, due to copyright laws, we cannot publish the whole article. To view these articles in full length you'll need to use the link above to access the free trial at Highbeam.