Author for October: Henry David Thoreau

I have a room all to myself: it is nature. Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau is our author for October 2010. The collection of essays entitled Walden is the primary selection but members can read any of his writings that have to do with nature. Reading excerpts is a good way to get a taste of his ideas, personality, and philosophy in easily digested bits. Opening Walden to any page and reading one paragraph each day can work too. The book does not have to be read in order. Good chapters to start with are "The Pond in Winter" and "Spring."

For the ultimate in-depth experience, see if you can get your hands on the acclaimed annotated version of Walden, edited by Jeffrey S. Cramer, who is curator of collections at the Henley Library of the Thoreau Institute. (Click on book cover at left to link for more information.)

Encouraged by mentor Ralph Waldo Emerson, Thoreau became a dedicated journal -keeper. Works he intended for publication were inspired by and fashioned from his in-the-moment journal entries. Portions of Thoreau's voluminous journals (7000 pages)have been published in recent years and these are a illuminating window into his way of experiencing the world and capturing his thoughts. (Look for A Year in Thoreau's Journal:1851 or I to Myself, annotated journal excerpts edited by the same Mr. Cramer mentioned above.)

Thoreau's perception of the relationships within nature is often called the foundation of ecology. He is considered one of the most powerful voices for environmental preservation. He was also one of the first naturalists in North America to apply the principles in the controversial Origin of the Species by his contemporary Charles Darwin.

Many devotees of today's simplicity movement pay homage to Thoreau. He was prescient--he saw where unrestrained "progress," technology and materialism would lead and what devastating toll these trends had already taken on the natural world in his lifetime.

Perhaps Thoreau's work will inspire you to look at nature in a different way, or even do more nature journaling. Please jot down your thoughts and responses to share at our next meeting in late October. Members will be notifed of the time and place by email. Prospective new members should email pvnaturewriters@gmail.com for details.

Read Thoreau's writings online (Including Walden)
http://www/vcu/edu/engweb/transcendentalism/idea/nature.html

The Walden Woods and Thoreau Institute:
http://www.walden.org/

Thoreau nature quotes:
http://www/walden/org/Library/Quotations/Nature

Scientists use Thoreau's journals to study climate change:
http://www.calliope.org/thoreau/thorowarming.html

SEPTEMBER 2010 MEETING DATE CONFIRMED

Summer is winding down but Potomac Valley Nature Writing Group is gearing up for an exciting Fall and Winter of great reads. We are a community of kindred spirits--nature lovers who appreciate good writing about our favorite subject in all its variety.

September's meeting is confirmed for Sunday, the 19th, 3:00 PM at a member's home. We will be honoring Small Wonder by Barbara Kingsolver and Letters From Eden: A Year at Home, In the Woods by Julie Zickefoose. (Please check out the comment Julie herself made on the previous post below!)

If you are new to PVNWG and would like to attend, please email pvnaturewriters@gmail.com for directions to the meeting. We would love to have you join us!

AUTHORS FOR SUMMER: Barbara Kingsolver and Julie Zickefoose

PVNWG is reading Barbara Kingsolver's collection of essays Small Wonder and Julie Zickefoose's Letters from Eden over the summer months. We reunite in September to savor, debate, compare and contrast our responses to these two highly likeable and down-to-earth nature writers.

Kingsolver (at left) was born in Annapolis MD, moving with her family at age two to Kentucky where she grew up. She has lived in various places in the US and in Europe as an adult. After two decades living in Tucson, AZ, she, her husband and two daughters moved to a farm in southeastern Virginia in 2004, where they still reside.

Her writing has received numerous awards. In 2000, Kingsolver received the National Humanities Medal for service through the arts. In 1998, Kingsolver herself established the Bellwether Prize for Fiction. For more information about the author, go to her authorized website here.

Kingsolver began writing the essays that appear in Small Wonder on September 12, 2001, the day after the World Trade Center attack. She writes in the foreword that working on the book was a way to "take heart," survive and be useful to others after that tragic day. She shares her usual keen perceptions while finding wonder and hope in the intimate details of living life on earth. For more about Small Wonder, click here.

Julie Zickefoose is known to many folks as the commentator who brings an Appalachian perspective to All Things Considered on National Public Radio. She is also a widely published natural history writer and highly accomplished illustrator. She studied biology and art at Harvard, later working for a number of years as a field biologist for the Nature Conservancy. She and husband Bill Thompson, III, who is editor of Bird Watcher's Digest, live on an 80 acre wildlife sanctuary in southeast Ohio. See her visually stunning website here.

The essays in Letters From Eden: A Year At Home, In the Woods are just that--deeply felt experiences in nature, accompanied by gorgeous illustrations, that move us through the year alongside the author as she walks and watches in her own personal natural paradise. To read an excerpt from Letters click here. Zickafoose also writes an even more personal, and often humorous, nature-oriented blog (click here) that includes photos of herself, kids and pets.

We should have a lively meeting in September with these two vibrant and thought-provoking authors in [virtual] attendance! Date for September meeting to be confirmed soon for either the 11th or the 18th. Watch this spot or email pvnaturewriters@gmail.com for details.

Member Review of Naturalist by E.O. Wilson

Please click on the Reflections photo at left to see an insightful and moving review of our May book selection, by member Joy Pardue.

Season Finale a Success

On Saturday May 29, there was a good turnout of PVNWG members, 5 oldies and one newby. Our morning outing was a walk of discovery at a Wildlife Management area nearby--our new attendee is an expert on butterflies and enlightened us about sightings of Silvery Checkerspots, Tiger Swallowtails, Spring Azures and other beauties. She and our resident dragonfly expert demonstrated their netting technique (its all in the wrist) developed through long hours of practice. We thrilled to find various botanical wonders like Rattlesnake Fern, Rattlesnake Weed and Chocolate Tube Slime, (sorry no Rattlesnakes sighted) while Gray Tree Frogs serenaded us. Later, over an artfully presented luncheon, we traded musings in response to E. O. Wilson's autobiography and also touched briefly on impressions of Barbara Kingsolver's collection of essays, Small Wonder. From a list of nature writing classics and recent prize winners we chose upcoming selections so summer reading can commence in advance!

When we reconvene in September, we will compare/contrast Kingsolver's work to Letters from Eden by Julie Zickafoose. In October we tackle Henry David Thoreau's classic Walden. In November we honor our first fiction selection, WV author Ann Pancake's Strange As This Weather Has Been, about a family surviving the tragedy of mountain top removal mining. We round off 2010 in December with Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Almanac. So those of you who enjoy reading in the hammock, on the beach, under a tree or on the porch, there is plenty to choose from. Enjoy the summer and see you in September!

PVNWG SEASON FINALE

A member has graciously offered to host our book club's season finale at her home near Charlestown on Saturday, May 29! We will gather at 10:00 AM, head out for a leisurely nature hike nearby, then return for a potluck lunch al fresco on the treetop deck. We will discuss the E. O. Wilson autobiography. In addition to Barbara Kingsolver's Small Wonder, we will line up selections that members have previously recommended, so folks can get a jump start on reading this summer! The book discussions will be on summer hiatus for June, July and August and resume in September. Its a SUMMER WORLD and time to get out there!

APRIL 25 MEETING CANCELLED

Due to scheduling conflicts that affect several members, the April 25 meeting to discuss E. O. Wilson's autobiography Naturalist is cancelled and will be rescheduled.