Nature Writing

Does anyone here read environmental non-fiction (nature writing)? I am quite fond of this genre and am always looking for suggestions. Some of these writers whom I enjoyed are Loren Eiseley, Wendell Berry, Barbara Kingsolver, Edward Abbey, Barry Lopez, Mary Austin, Rachel Carson, Henry Thoreau, Terry Tempest Williams, John Muir, John Burroughs, Scott Russel Sanders, (selected) Annie Dillard, John McPhee, Farley Mowat and many others.

If you also enjoy this type of writing, what are your favorite books, authors, or other aspects of this genre?

I guess I'm just hoping to start some general literary conversation on this topic.

Loren Eiseley! Comedian, you are the first person I have come across who has read him too! The Immense Journey was one of the first non-fiction books I read - I was of an age when 'non-fiction' meant 'text book' and it was a surprise and delight to find an author who wrote with such passion on a factual subject: his pictures in words set me on a life-time's reading of 'nature' books.

I suppose one of the books that influenced me most was Blueprint for a Green Planet by John Seymour aand Herbert Girardet. I suppose it is hardly a 'literary book' but in terms of communicating its message, it certainly spoke to me.

David Attenborough's books read well - if you have ever seen his tv programmes, you can 'hear' his voice in his writing.

Gilbert White's Natural History of Selborne never fails to give me pleasure, as does Walton's The Compleat Angler. If you like gardening, then Reginald Arkell's 'fictional biography', Old Herbaceous, the life of an old-school gardener, might delight you as much as does me on many re-readings.

Have never heard of any of those authors, but thanks for suggestions. I definitely have to try some.... :nod:

@ kasie -- I was introduced to Loren Eiseley by my father a long time ago. And I've loved nearly every sentence he wrote. I remember my dad's underlined copy of Eiseley's The Unexpected Universe with great fondness, and I return to those pages frequently. His prose is at once scientific and florid, a combination that I greatly enjoy. And, like most nature writers, Eiseley's work has an element of our spiritual search meaning and place -- a journey that I feel that I am always on in some way or another.

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If you like gardening, then Reginald Arkell's 'fictional biography', Old Herbaceous, the life of an old-school gardener, might delight you as much as does me on many re-readings.

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I haven't read this work but will most certainly give it a try. Thanks for the recommendation.

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Originally Posted by Veva

Have never heard of any of those authors, but thanks for suggestions. I definitely have to try some.... :nod:

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Veva, if you like writing that sings of place or writing in which the setting is a character, then you are in for a treat.

Ive just finished Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods about hiking the Appalachian Trail. It was interesting and very funny, although Im not sure it fits the profile. It is very positive about the environment, nature and the maintainance of it.

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Originally Posted by Paulclem

Ive just finished Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods about hiking the Appalachian Trail. It was interesting and very funny, although Im not sure it fits the profile. It is very positive about the environment, nature and the maintainance of it.

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I loved Bryson's A Walk in the Woods. And I'd call it nature writing -- nature writing is not simply purple-y descriptions of scenic places. It's much more about human experience in the natural world, be that experience romantic, naturalistic, comedic, or otherwise.

Side note: Bryson's A Natural History of Everything is also quite good.

I've read about half of A Brief History of Everything. It's also very good. I've read his Notes from a Small island and the Australian one - Down Under? - which was hilarious. He makes a good mix of observational comedy, natural history and travelogue.

Good choice for a thread, Comedian, as I have always loved this genre of literature, though I have explored it much less than I would prefer; this may give me a few more ideas.
My interest in nature writing came from where likely most gained a lot of inspiration from, the Transcendentalists (Emerson, Thoreau, Channing, Fuller), but, like you, I have explored a bit of Kingsolver, Muir, and Burroughs. By how much attention it has received here, and elsewhere, perhaps I will look into Bill Bryson, too.
Recommended to me by an old friend, who actually studied environmental science at the time of her promoting this book, I read A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold a few years ago, and feel compelled to recommend it further as a relatively neglected book in this genre. It reads much like a journal, from month-to-month, and explores some ecology, botany, economics, and environmentalism, but consists a lot of Leopold's thoughts, meditations, and reflections amid such surroundings, seeming very reminiscient of Thoreau's Walden or A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, and almost as quotable in some parts, too.

Agree with Kasie as to Gilbert White's "Natural History of Selborne" and Walton's "Compleat Angler."

Have you tried Richard Jefferies?

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Originally Posted by mono

.Recommended to me by an old friend, who actually studied environmental science at the time of her promoting this book, I read A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold a few years ago, and feel compelled to recommend it further as a relatively neglected book in this genre. It reads much like a journal, from month-to-month, and explores some ecology, botany, economics, and environmentalism, but consists a lot of Leopold's thoughts, meditations, and reflections amid such surroundings

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I loved A Sand County Almanac! Leopold's style and insight into the human relationship with the natural world is truly moving. A quotation from that book that I still remember without looking it up: "we only save what we love. And we only love what we know". It's hard to get more poetic and direct about how to go about building an environmental ethic than this.

If you want to read more of this area, I heartily recommend Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez (who lives in Oregon, if I remember correctly). It won the National Book award and rightfully so -- I doubt there is its equal in modern environmental nonfiction: part natural history, part philosophic meditation, part religious exercise. . . . and Lopez is a beautiful prose stylist.

I think Silent Spring is the work that springs to my mind first. It was really well-written and profound. Rachel Carson really doesn't pull punches.

Good list of writers. Kerouac wrote a nice piece about a summer he spent all by himself atop a mountain in Wash. State while watching for forest fires.

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Originally Posted by byquist

Good list of writers. Kerouac wrote a nice piece about a summer he spent all by himself atop a mountain in Wash. State while watching for forest fires.

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I love this story by Kerouac -- it's titled "Alone on a Mountain Top", if I recall. Kerouac brings a city-boy's mind-frame to the outdoors experience that I always appreciate.

One of the elements of nature writing that I enjoy is just this: how the natural world challenges us and changes us in some way. Often, nature writing is the writing of a journey into the natural world and the corresponding story of a return to "home" with something of value (often of mental or spiritual value).

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Originally Posted by byquist

Good list of writers. Kerouac wrote a nice piece about a summer he spent all by himself atop a mountain in Wash. State while watching for forest fires.

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Desolation Peak. It is mentioned in both The Dharma Bums and Desolation Angles, perhaps more.

I'm also interested in nature writing and the solitary individual, it is half of what attracts me to Wordsworth I think. I've also started reading Walden!!!;)

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Originally Posted by Whifflingpin

Agree with Kasie as to Gilbert White's "Natural History of Selborne" and Walton's "Compleat Angler."

Have you tried Richard Jefferies?

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No - thanks for the pointer. :)

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Originally Posted by Neely

I'm also interested in nature writing and the solitary individual, it is half of what attracts me to Wordsworth I think. I've also started reading Walden!!!;)

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Reading Walden is like that first sip of Belgian brew: rich, slow, familiar, beautiful. Enjoy!

I awake light-hearted this morning of spring,
Everywhere round me the singing of birds –
But now I remember the night, the storm,
And I wonder how many blossoms were broken.

By Meng Haoran, tr. Bynner
http://www.afpc.asso.fr/wengu/wg/wen...Tangshi&no=232

I will admit though, with the sounds of the original removed, it loses something.

Under the crescent moon a light autumn dew
Has chilled the robe she will not change –
And she touches a silver lute all night,
Afraid to go back to her empty room.

by Wang Wei tr. Bynner

http://www.afpc.asso.fr/wengu/wg/wen...Tangshi&no=313

if you want to go in the direction of outdoor humor, i whole heartedly recommend reading patrick mcmanus. he writes about his time in the out of doors both as a kid and an adult in idaho and the way he tells stories makes me laugh right out loud.

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Originally Posted by Paulclem

Ive just finished Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods about hiking the Appalachian Trail. It was interesting and very funny, although Im not sure it fits the profile. It is very positive about the environment, nature and the maintainance of it.

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I was going to suggest this book too. It's not Thoreau, but closer to Rachel Carson. I also liked it, but got bored from all the historical/environmental information.

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Originally Posted by byquist

Good list of writers. Kerouac wrote a nice piece about a summer he spent all by himself atop a mountain in Wash. State while watching for forest fires.

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It would makes sense that Kerouac would write such a story, even though he is so urban. I'm going to have to look this story up.

Thanks Comedian, great thread!

I think that this is the first time I have seen Bryson's name mentioned on these forums, at least to my limited knowledge and participation. My opinion of him is that he is OK for a bit of fun. He reads like an amusing column in a newspaper, or a big daft hairy uncle, but after 2 or 3 of his books you get the idea...

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Originally Posted by jersea

It would makes sense that Kerouac would write such a story, even though he is so urban. I'm going to have to look this story up.

Thanks Comedian, great thread!

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You want Dhama Bums then.

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Originally Posted by JBI

Under the crescent moon a light autumn dew
Has chilled the robe she will not change –
And she touches a silver lute all night,
Afraid to go back to her empty room.

by Wang Wei tr. Bynner

http://www.afpc.asso.fr/wengu/wg/wen...Tangshi&no=313

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Hey JBI thanks for offering those poems. I greatly enjoyed each of them -- they both offer a moment of connection between the natural world and human experience -- the femininity of moon, music and night, the sense of transition and isolation (the moon, her room), and of occupying a space.

I heartily admit that I know very little of nature-oriented literature from non-English speaking countries; I welcome the chance to learn more.

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Originally Posted by bounty

if you want to go in the direction of outdoor humor, i whole heartedly recommend reading patrick mcmanus. he writes about his time in the out of doors both as a kid and an adult in idaho and the way he tells stories makes me laugh right out loud.

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You bring back great memories bounty! I remember my dad reading me McManus when I was a kid (and later I read him on my own as an adult. Still do too). I grew up a hunter and fisherman in earnest. And, I remember laughing out loud to these stories.

Remember the one that deals with an experienced woodsman, a greenhorn,a box of chocolate covered raisins, and a "crunch, chew, chew -- yep, those are fresh"? :lol:

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Originally Posted by Neely

I think that this is the first time I have seen Bryson's name mentioned on these forums, at least to my limited knowledge and participation. My opinion of him is that he is OK for a bit of fun. He reads like an amusing column in a newspaper, or a big daft hairy uncle, but after 2 or 3 of his books you get the idea...



You want Dhama Bums then.

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Have you read Bryson's Shakespeare? Not as amusing as I thought it might be, but his main point about Shakespeare is that very little is known about him. It is, thus, a slim book.

He very much poo-poos those who deny Shakespeare's authorship. It was interesting, having just read it, to read Brian Bean's thread on whether shakespeare wrote the plays. #

I suppose it was also interesting to reflect that I didn't quote him on the thread because I thought he would be berated as Academic-lite, though I don't consider him to be so. I think he makes a lot of sense.

I agree that his writing is fun with occaisional insights - such as the piece about Americans not walking, hence there being no footpaths (sidewalks), around some towns. I know he uses hyperbole well, but it highlights interesting stuff.

No I've not read his book on Shakespeare, but then again I've read enough and have enough common sense, not to need to read any more about the so called authorship debate, no offence Brian!

Undoubtedly his insights are funny and true enough but after the third or fourth book by him I think he has said all that needs to be said. I think his Note from a Small Island is particularly amusing though.

Richard Mabey's Nature Cure and his biography of Gilbert White; Roger Deakins Waterlog and his Wildwood (both beautifully written and hugely inspirational); Edward Thomas's The South Country (I loved this book, as much as I love his poetry), the poetry of John Clare, Robert MacFarlane's Mountains of the Mind; Oliver Rackham's History of the Countryside; W H Hudson's A Shepherd's Life; Hoskin's The Making of the English Landscape..... there's so many good books on nature!

A new writer in this genre: Erik Reece.

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Originally Posted by Neely

No I've not read his book on Shakespeare, but then again I've read enough and have enough common sense, not to need to read any more about the so called authorship debate, no offence Brian!

Undoubtedly his insights are funny and true enough but after the third or fourth book by him I think he has said all that needs to be said. I think his Note from a Small Island is particularly amusing though.

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Yes I enjoyed that one and the Australian book. He occaisionally makes me laugh out loud, which not many books do. I do need a break between, but then look forward to th next one.

This thread reminds me of a quote by Goethe: "Nature is, indeed, the only book whose every page is filled with important content".... This is from the Italian Journey, you might like that book.

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Originally Posted by shortstoryfan

A new writer in this genre: Erik Reece.

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Okay, I'll check out him out. What sort of nature writing does he do -- natural history? poetry? adventure literature?

Ooo, glad I decided to check back on some old posts.

He has written a book about mountain top removal mining (strip mining) and is coming out with a book of poetry that will probably explore those themes as well. Influenced by Wendell Berry, who has really been a pioneering voice against strip mining.

I certainly second Walton's Compleat Angler (which I've never heard another ever mention), Goethe's Italian Journey, and Wang Wei's poetry. You might also wish to look into Boswell and Johnson's accounts of their journey to Scotland and the Hebrides. There are probably a great many poets you might explore. Certainly look into Wordsworth and John Clare.

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Originally Posted by stlukesguild

I certainly second Walton's Compleat Angler (which I've never heard another ever mention), Goethe's Italian Journey, and Wang Wei's poetry. You might also wish to look into Boswell and Johnson's accounts of their journey to Scotland and the Hebrides. There are probably a great many poets you might explore. Certainly look into Wordsworth and John Clare.

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I know Hemingway liked Walton, and I've tried to read the book once or twice, but I just couldn't care less about fishing. I also cannot recommend Goethe's Italian Journey, but then you like him much more than I do. As far as Wang Wei goes though, I concur with your opinion.

I'd recommend Thoreau's Walden, Hemingway's Big Two Hearted River, Faulkner's The Bear, or London's The Call of the Wild.

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Originally Posted by mortalterror

I know Hemingway liked Walton, and I've tried to read the book once or twice, but I just couldn't care less about fishing. I also cannot recommend Goethe's Italian Journey, but then you like him much more than I do. As far as Wang Wei goes though, I concur with your opinion.

I'd recommend Thoreau's Walden, Hemingway's Big Two Hearted River, Faulkner's The Bear, or London's The Call of the Wild.

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I liked The Call of the Wild and it has reminded me of Tarka the Otter and Ring of Bright Water, both great stories about otters.

I greatly enjoyed Walton's Compleat Angler. But, I'm a bit of a fisherman myself. Do you all remember that part where he aims to teach young Piscator a lesson in "charity"? So they catch two fish, an ugly chub and a lovely trout. Well, Walton, in the name of great charity tells his understudy to offer the chub to the nearest family in need while they take home the delicious trout for dinner. Ha!

Oh, and a more modern fishing novel that is one of my favorites: David James Duncan's The River Why. Excellent book -- and if you're a fisherman, you'll fall head over fish hooks for it.

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Originally Posted by The Comedian

Oh, and a more modern fishing novel that is one of my favorites: David James Duncan's The River Why. Excellent book -- and if you're a fisherman, you'll fall head over fish hooks for it.

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Seconded, indeed! :thumbs_up
I have no idea how I could have left Duncan out of the recommendation list, but I guess I kept thinking more along the lines of nonfiction than fiction. I read The River Why quite some time ago, not long after gaining a fast affinity for Duncan when reading The Brothers K - both excellent books, and high recommended, though the latter does not exactly fit in the category of this thread.

I accept with information: It reads much like a journal, from month-to-month, and explores some ecology, botany, economics, and environmentalism, but consists a lot of Leopold's thoughts, meditations, and reflections amid such surroundings, seeming very reminiscient of Thoreau's Walden or A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers.
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