written/compiled by Zachary Bos and Cat Dossett
Some New & Recommended Reading

What we've been reading recently on the theme of "man and nature"...

Travel Writing and the Natural World, 1768-1840 by Paul Smethurst, from Palgrave MacMillan (2012). $85.00. A collection of travel writing beginning with Captain Cook's Pacific voyages and continuing through one of the most well-traveled eras in world history.

The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2012, edited by Dan Ariely and Tim Folger, from Mariner Books (2012). $9.94. A collection of the premier contemporary America science and nature writing. Guest-edited by Duke University professor and writer Dan Ariely.

Wild Urban Plants of the Northeast by Peter Del Tredici, from Cornell Univ. Press (2012). $29.95. An illustrated field guide to wild plants found in urban areas of the northeastern United States. Biological and environmental information of each plant is accompanied by full-color photographs.

Under the Rock: The Poetry of a Place by Benjamin Myers, from Elliott & Thompson (2018). $18.57. Examines the natural, literary, and historical history of Scout Rock, a crag in Mytholmroyd in West Yorkshire, UK, that Ted Hughes once called his "spiritual midwife."

The Overstory: A Novel by Richard Powers, from Norton (2018). $18.27. Nine strangers and an attempt to save the last of an old-growth forest, untouched by human hands. Includes topics of activism and resistance.

Nature's Temples: The Complex World of Old-Growth Forests by Joan Maloof, from Timber Press (2016). $27.95. From the Press website:

An old-growth forest is one that has formed naturally over a long period of time with little or no disturbance from humankind. They are increasingly rare and largely misunderstood. In Nature's Temples, Joan Maloof, the director of the Old-Growth Forest Network, makes a heartfelt and passionate case for their importance. This evocative and accessible narrative defines old-growth and provides a brief history of forests. It offers a rare view into how the life-forms in an ancient, undisturbed forest-including not only its majestic trees but also its insects, plant life, fungi, and mammals-differ from the life-forms in a forest manipulated by humans. What emerges is a portrait of a beautiful, intricate, and fragile ecosystem that now exists only in scattered fragments. Black-and-white illustrations by Andrew Joslin help clarify scientific concepts and capture the beauty of ancient trees.

Living in the Nature Poem by Mary Harwell Sayler, from Hiraeth Press (2012).  $14.95. A sociological, biological, and astronomical exploration of the relationships we have with other people and with the earth, as well as our place within nature.  Her poetry addresses the "universal need known to artists, children, poets, / who, poised inmystery, must / watch and wait and wonder."

Wilding: The Return of Nature to a British Farm by Isabella Tree, from Picador (2018).  $22.32. The author and her husband convert their farm into rewilding experiment, populating the 3,500-acre plot with cattle, ponies, pigs, and deer and effectively transforming the land into breeding grounds for a variety of rare species of wildlife. 

Gull. Free. A literary magazine launched in June 2016 that publishes ecocentric poetry, prose, and art in a compact zine format. Based in Folkestone, Kent, UK, it seeks to investigate the connections between human beings and the natural world.

Deep in the Woods by Christopher Corr, from Lincoln Children's Books (2017). $17.99. As as described by Julia Turner for The New York Times:

... a vibrant modern retelling of a classic Russian folk tale... in electric hues—neon coral, Starburst pink, Jolly Rancher orange—against cool, unusual grounds of lilac, aqua, violet and periwinkle, the book looks more like a delectable candy box than anything photosynthesis would produce. Deep in the Woods is alluringly strange. It tells the story of a white, wooden house in a forest, with "nine neat windows and a red front door." The house stands "empty, cold and sad"—until some woodland creatures happen along and make it their own. A mouse, a fox, a lavender bunny, a swooping speckled owl: Most of the animals have eyes shaped like human ones, which make them look more sophisticated—knowing, mischievous, sometimes sad—than your average picture-book fauna. This diverse menagerie keeps house together until a big orange bear ambles along and wants in on the action, causing first strife and heartbreak and then—after some light woodworking to make a house that will fit his lumbering frame—rejoicing.

<< return to the Table of Contents for New Series #5: Summer 2018, Volume 3 Number 1