Meredith Sue Willis's
Books for Readers # 152
May 9, 2012
It looks better online! Read it here.
My News:
There's a lovely review of my book of stories, Re-Visions, at
Women Writers, Women's Books written by Diane Simmons. Feel free to leave a comment!
In this Issue:
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Guest Editor Marc Harshman on John Burroughs' Signs and Seasons (edited and with Critical Commentary by Jeff Walker, Syracuse University Press, 2006)
[Bracketed numbers refer to page numbers in the above text]
It may be that Audubon, Thoreau, and Muir come first to
mind when we think of the great American naturalists of the 19th Century
but we do so at a real loss if we do not also include John Burroughs.
Although he didn't make the discoveries of Audubon, mount wilderness
expeditions like Muir, nor ever attain the literary laurels of Thoreau,
he had a clarity of vision and honesty regarding our place in the
natural world that most anticipates the visionaries of our own era such
as Wendell Berry, Bill McKibben, and Terry Tempest Williams. These
contemporaries are always careful to note that stewardship of the land
must begin at home. And if there is a common thread in Burrough's
writing it is the
close observation of nature he finds at home and out his back door.
Jeff Walker has done us a great favor in re-introducing
this collection of thirteen essays originally published in 1886, a
collection that not only includes some of Burroughs' best but also well
indicates the range of his many interests. These encompass pastoral
reflections upon seasons in his native mid-Hudson valley (where Walker
himself lives) to detailed observations of birds and their enemies to
musings about the way in which a home might best "fit" the landscape.
Walker begins with a concise overview of Burrough's life
followed by a more detailed introduction that places this work in the
context of a prolific lifetime, as well as reflects upon the way in
which Burroughs offers "both inspiration and encouragement" to those
still concerned with preserving "harmony between our human and natural
communities." Burroughs is often seen as the "father of the nature
essay" and it is a special delight to read and relish the elegant prose
of this largely self-educated author, albeit one who treasured
literature. As Walker puts it: "…nature writing and literature" were
inseparable with Burroughs. Or as Burroughs himself says: "Man can
have but one interest in nature, namely, to see himself reflected or
interpreted there, and we quickly neglect both poet and philosopher who
fail to satisfy, in some measure, this feeling. [37] It is no surprise
that Burroughs had close friendships with many of the greatest writers
of his day and knew their work intimately. In an account of being
seaside he eloquently quotes from Rosetti, Byron, and Whitman, Whitman
who was, in fact, staying with Burroughs at the time and a valued
friend.
Nearly every page possesses keenly observed and succinctly
rendered accounts of a creature or plant or other natural phenomenon.
Even those he's never seen he captures as if he had known them always
-- the pileated woodpecker whose "blows should wake the echoes." [152]
He muses that April is "that part of the season that never cloys upon
the palate. It does not surfeit one with good things, but provokes and
stimulates the curiosity. One is on the alert, there are hints and
suggestions on every hand … May is sweet, but April is pungent. There
is frost enough in it to make it sharp, and heat enough in it to make it
quick." [176] He is a writer who can detect the smell of "tree buds."
[183 ff.] or catalog an eagle on an ice floe with the unerring accuracy
of a Stieglitz photograph. [209]
Unlike most of my generation the story of John Burroughs
and his world as reflected in these pages is the story of a man who
largely stayed put, happy to gain wisdom by continually asking questions
of the world that came to meet him in the near at hand. It was a good
path to wisdom then and remains so now. The words of John Burroughs
remain a touchstone for anyone seeking a similar path.
TO READ ONLINE
David Evanier' story "Sentences" in
Per Contra is about the lives of writers, hilarious and touching:
http://www.percontra.net/issues/23/fiction/sentences/
Guernica Magazine has just published Jose Saramago's last stories (
http://www.guernicamag.com/fiction/saramago_3_15_12). Leora Skolkin-Smith says it's " free on-line and it's spectacular."
Norman Julian and Jim Minick both recommend a recent
interview with Wendell Berry. NATURE AS AN ALLY: AN INTERVIEW WITH
WENDELL BERRY :
http://dissentmagazine.org/article/?article=4239.
Sol Literary Magazine has Carole Rosenthal's touching story about taking her father's ashes to a Mexican cemetery, "
Day of the Dead" .
E-BOOK ORIGINAL: OF LITTLE FAITH BY CAROL HOENIG
I read Carol Hoenig's
Of Little Faith, which is an original e-book. The story begins directly, almost plain in its story telling style. This works, though, as a way
of giving the illusion we are simply hearing about some real people's
lives. By the final third, when one of the main characters, Laura, is
not only pregnant but seriously ill, you find yourself rooting for her,
of course-- but also for her brother the conflicted minister and his
wife, and even the awful fundamentalist sister.
There is a subplot in which a children's book writer has a
wild success with TV gigs and a Macy's balloon, and a loving
Englishman who makes a contract to have a have a baby with Laura, but
falls in love with her too. The bad sister seems like the stereotype of
a tightly laced hysterical fanatic, but when her hysteria expands to a
breakdown, it turns out she has a good reason for her collapse.
One interesting aspect to the book is how it has a
spiritual quality, but seems to push no particular dogma. It is serious
and heartfelt, and highly readable.
--- MSW
COMMAS, THANKS TO NORMAN JULIAN
THE E-READER REPORT WITH JOHN BIRCH
DON'T BE FOOLED BY FREE E-BOOK SCAMS!
Look out, there's a growing number of websites offering
free e-books. But be careful, because some will ask you for an "access
fee" that can be more than $40. And once they've got your money they'll
only introduce you to other sites that already offer free books!
Project Gutenberg is a genuine site
managed by volunteers. It offers 38,000 free books that you can upload
to Kindle, Android, iPad and iPhone. Check out their Top 100 free
classics that include a whole range of books ranging from those of Conan
Doyle, Charles Dickens and Alexandre Dumas to Agatha Christie and
G.K. Chesterton to P.G. Wodehouse.
Now you can read all those great books you promised yourself you'd read years ago. See
www. gutenberg.org .
ANNOUNCEMENTS, NEWS, CONTESTS, WORKSHOPS, READINGS ETC.
If you're in Huntington, West Virginia this June-- check out the
Word & Song Café atop the beautiful gazebo at 14th Street West during the
21st annual Old Central City Days. Sit back and enjoy a cup or two of tea and delicious pastries from Betty Schoew’s
Manchester House Tea Catering and listen to
The Harmonica Club, award-winning writers, and performers,
Saturday and Sunday, June 16 and 17, 2012, from 1-3pm. Writers include
Marie Manilla,
John Van Kirk,
Laura Treacy Bentley,
Carter Taylor Seaton, and many more.
For more information, go to
www.oldcentralcity.com.
Jennifer Miller's new novel THE YEAR OF THE GADFLY
officially hits stores May 8. Glamour calls it "Part Dead Poet's
Society. Part Heathers. Entirely addictive." It's a fun, literary prep
school novel, with a mystery driven forward by a high school journalist
whose only friend is the ghost of Edward R. Murrow.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Year-Gadfly-Jennifer-Miller/dp/0547548591
See Jennifer in person:
May 8: Brooklyn, NY @ BookCourt, 7pm
May 9: Brookline, MA @ Brookline Booksmith, 7pm
May 10: Exeter, NH @ Water Street Books
, 7pm
May 14: Washington, DC @ Politics and Prose, 7pm
May 19: Gaithersburg, MD @ Gaithersburg Book Festival, 2pm
June 11: Brooklyn @ Franklin Park Reading Series, Franklin Park, 7pm
June 12: New York City @ Le Poisson Rouge "Book Reports", 7pm
June 22: Chicago, IL @ The Book Cellar, with the amazing Jennifer Close
Sanctuary: A Reading of Poetry & Fiction
by Acclaimed Authors and Poets to benefit the IYYUN Center. Sunday,
June 3rd at 7:30 PM, IYYUN Center 650 Sackett Street (between 3rd and
4th Avenue, Brooklyn) Light refreshments will be served. Suggested
Donation: $18.
Authors and Poets include: Allan Appel, Beth Bosworth, Marc Kaminsky, Dennis Nurkse, and Mark Solomon.
All the presenters have been studying Torah with Rav Pinson
for the past 7 years. They have come together to sponsor and offer this
incredible and unique program, to benefit the IYYUN Center and its new
building in Brooklyn. This is a rare opportunity to experience the
poetry and fiction that you love, being presented by their highly
acclaimed authors.
ONE STORY WORKSHOP This summer, One Story will again be
offering our intimate 6-day fiction workshop for writers. The week will
include morning workshops, afternoon craft lectures, and evening panels
with authors, agents, MFA faculty, and editors. The workshop will be
held July 22 - 27, 2012, in our office at The Old American Can Factory
in Brooklyn, New York.
We are crafting a unique experience, both practical and
creative, for writers looking to take the next step in their careers.
Former Associate Editor Marie-Helene Bertino and Contributing Editor
Will Allison will be returning as workshop leaders. Editor-in-Chief
Hannah Tinti, as well as other established writers chosen for their
ability to teach the craft of writing in engaging ways, will teach
afternoon craft classes. Every night, there will be a wine and cheese
reception and panel discussion with industry professionals. Last year's
lecturers and panelists included Myla Goldberg, Darin Strauss, Jenny
Offill, Simon Van Booy, editors from
Granta, Electric Literature, A Public Space, Gigantic, literary agents, and MFA directors.
Please join us at the Old American Can Factory on Thursday,
May 17th for a free craft lecture from Hannah Tinti on the art and
skill of creating character. The event will begin with a reception at
6:30 PM. This is a rare chance to sample a craft lecture like the ones
offered during the workshop, and an opportunity to meet some of the
faces behind
One Story.
Applications for the One Story Workshop for Writers are being accepted until May 31, 2012. To learn more, write
One Story 232 3rd St. #E106 Brooklyn, NY 11215 or click on
www.one-story.com
Jim Minnick's THE BLUEBERRY YEARS is just out in
paperback. The book is a memoir about a pick-your-own, organic
blueberry farm in Floyd County, Virginia. Last year, it won the SIBA
Best Nonfiction Book of the Year award, and it has garnered kind words
from many folks, including Naomi Wolf who calls it "delicious reading."
For excerpts and photos, visit www.jim-minick.com.