The Four Dimensions

I've been noticing how multidimensional Wallace's work in Idle Weeds is. Check out the description of the nature writing class that he teaches:
The Four Dimensions of Nature Writing: Fall 2008
This course will explore our nature writing tradition with readings, field trips, and writing exercises. We will approach the tradition through four dimensions wherein we perceive nature: the self, the "other," space, and time. We will read representative excerpts from founding figures: Gilbert White -- nature as the self; William Bartram -- nature as the "other"; Henry Thoreau -- nature as space; Charles Darwin -- nature as time. This course will explore attempts to coordinate the dimensions with things like Bigfoot legends in The Klamath Knot: Explorations in Myth and Evolution. Field trips and writing exercises will focus on interpreting local landscapes in terms of the four dimensions.

Some Talent!

I'm found this month's book a little slow going at first, but the more I read, the more admiring I've become of the author's talent with extendedmetaphors--like comparing the ridge's canopy seen from above to the ocean, with birds and insects leaping up like porpoises-- and suggesting that the insects thriving together on milkweed plants are like a Borgia court thriving on poison!
The way he uses all his senses is staggering, incredible powers of observation. He is especially skillful with sound and color. He makes all kinds of allusions to art and history. He writes about his experiences of time morphing and feeling the presence of ghosts of past human inhabitants. I'm writing down so many snippets of his writing in my journal. The book has so many levels I am in awe of his accomplishment. I try to imagine how he wrote the book, how many hours did he spend sitting alone on the ridge, staying present with what was occurring around and within him? Looking forward to our discussion! Sandy

DAVID RAINS WALLACE is AUTHOR FOR MAY

David Rains Wallace needs a publicist! He has written many natural history books and is highly regarded as a naturalist and author, but finding information about him on the web is very difficult. See the few links at left I was able to locate. Please post if you have information to share. We are reading Idle Weeds: The Life of an Ohio Sandstone Ridge for May.