Review: Nature and Selected Essays by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Started 27 February, 2008

Finished 29 March, 2008

Larzer Ziff, the editor of this collection, credits Emerson (1803-82) with being the centre of the American literary tradition. Emerson came into a world where nature was something to be conquered. It was not valued because it did not have the 'storied associations' of the European landscape. In this view, which prevailed up to the 1830s, imagination was shaped by history - the remembered past of human events.

Emerson's writings elevated nature over history, claiming that 'American history must be the history of nature speaking through men, not of men shaping nature'. His philosophy became the single most powerful force in American intellectual life in the nineteenth century, influencing writers such as Herman Melville, Walt Whitman and Henry David Thoreau.

The fifteen essays collected here give us a comprehensive cross-section of those writings, covering a period of twenty-six years, from 1836 to 1862. Although I found reading these essays tough going, having to go back over many passages two or three times before fully comprehending them, they reward perseverance. Hidden among the difficult nineteenth-century language are many gems of wisdom, which is why Emerson is possilby one of the most quoted authors.

Emerson was a popular speaker as well as writer. Indeed, he began his career as a preacher, and many of the essays here were originally delivered as lectures after he resigned his post as preacher in 1831.

Apart from the title piece, Nature, Emerson's first published essay, there are a wide range of other subjects covered in this collection: History, Self-Reliance, The Over-soul, Fate, and Experience. There are also biographical discussions on Montaigne, Napolean and Thoreau.

Despite the archaic language and style, many of the ideas expressed by Emerson seem surprisingly modern, and would probably not be out of place if written by a contemporary writer.

The introduction by Ziff gives us an excellent description of Emerson's life and times, and there are suggestions for further reading if you want more detail.

Emerson's complete works span 12 volumes, but I would recommend this book as a great starting point for discovering his writing.

Review: The Theban Plays by Sophocles

Classic Greek drama which tells of the tragedy of Oedipus and his family.


As foretold by Teiresius, a blind prophet, Oedipus unwittingly kills his own father, then marries his own mother, with whom he has four children.



The three plays in this book, King Oedipus, Oedipus at Colonus and Antigone, show us what happens when Oedipus realises what he has done.


This harrowing tale, when read in the order above, forms a continuous narrative from Oedipus' birth, through to his tragic and horrifying act, his death, and then the consequences for his children.


I was surprised to learn though that this was not the order in which they were written. Sophocles (496-406 BC) wrote the last play, Antigone, first, in 442-441BC. This was followed by King Oedipus, the first of the trilogy in 429-420BC, and then Oedipus at Colonus in 401 BC which was released/performed in 401 BC, after the author's death.


There are some minor inconsistencies as a result of this non-sequential writing, but these do not detract from the impact of the drama.


Newcomers to Greek drama will find the introduction helpful, as this gives us a background on the origins and development of the dramatic form in Ancient Greece, a detailed analysis of each play, and the relevance of these texts to today's audience.


On this last note, I found one particular scene in Antigone very reminscent of recent events in Australian politics. Creon, brother-in-law to Oedipus and now the new king, stubbornly refuses to change his ruling on the burial of Oedipus' son, and the punishment for Antigone, who has defied this ruling. Despite indications that he may lose his family, his supporters, and his throne, Creon remains resolute.


I think the final words belong to Haemon, Creon's son:

"...good as it is to have infallible wisdom,
Since this is rarely found, the next best thing
Is to be willing to listen to wise advice."

If only John Howard had read this. Some things never change.

Review: A Place on Earth: An anthology of nature writing from Australia and North America by Mark Tredinnick (ed.)

Writing about nature is in no way a new phenomena, although as the editor of this book, Mark Tredinnick, suggests, it is probably more common in America than here in Australia.

In this collection of essays and personal stories, Tredinnick explores the reason for this, and offers a comparison of American and Australian traditions of nature writing, with a discussion of authors from both countries that have helped shaped the genre.

The writers in this book are more contemporary, and many pieces have been written specifically for this collection.

But what exactly is nature writing? According to Tredinnick,

"The literature of nature has three main dimensions: natural history information, personal repsonses to nature, and philosophical interpretations of nature" (p.35)

We are given examples of all three forms in this book through the work of 26 different authors (12 Australian, 14 American). Some write about a particular place - Tasmania, Northern Australia, Oregon, Alaska; some write about natural features - wind, rain, mountains, oceans; and some about various plants and animals - pine forests, bears, fish, birds.

What we learn from each of these writers is that we are all a part of our environment, and we cannot separate ourselves from it without causing it and ourselves some damage.

As Tredinnick writes in his introduction:

'You cannot know me until you know the weather and the country that surround me, the trees and rocks and animals, as well as the people, that keep me company" (p.27)

In this age of greater environmental awareness, nature writing is bound to become a much more prevalent form in our society, and this book is a wonderful introduction to the tradition.

Review: The Cambridge Companion to Henry David Thoreau by Joel Myerson (ed.)

In this collection of essays on Thoreau's life and work, thirteen different authors discuss Thoreau's development as a writer, his social and political conscience, his committment to the natural environment, and how all this influenced his writing.

I have to confess, I had not read any of Thoreau's writing before reading this book. Although I was aware of his greatest work, "Walden", I was never really sure what it was about, and it was only a reference to this work that I read somewhere else recently that lead me to seek out books by or about Thoreau.

This was the first book I came across, and I found it a wonderful introduction to Thoreau's work. From his early writings for various literary magazines, to his first book "A week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers" through to Walden and his later natural history writings, we are given a detailed analysis of each piece.

There are also essays on Thoreau's relationship with Ralph Waldo Emerson, an important figure in his life; his deep connection with Concord, the city where he lived; and his reputation as a writer during his own lifetime, and as viewed through modern eyes.

What’s surprising is how relevant Thoreau’s work still is today. In recent times, environmental management has become a mainstream issue, as our concern and awareness for the damage that has been done grows. However Thoreau was writing about this almost 200 years ago. He was a pioneer of the science of ecology, even before that term was invented.

In the discussion of Thoreau’s journal, we learn more about his philosophies and methods of working. Thoreau viewed his journal as ‘possibly his most important project as a writer’, and he discusses the purpose and value of journal-keeping. This is all placed in the context of the nineteenth-century literary world, where the habit of journal-keeping was prevalent.

Reading this book made me wish that I had discovered Thoreau much earlier. He was exactly the sort of writer I needed to read when I was in my teens and early twenties, struggling with my own writing and passion for natural history.

Whether you have read any of Thoreau's work or not, I believe you will find something of value in this book. If not in the analysis, then definitely in the detailed references and suggestions for further reading. A must-read for all ‘Thoreauvians’.

Review: Creative journal writing : the art and heart of reflection by Stephanie Dowrick

Over the years I have made many aborted attempts at keeping a journal. Starting out with the best of intentions, I would soon lose interest when my journal writing became very dull, little more than a recording of facts and events.

Stephanie Dowrick's 'Creative journal writing' helped to change all that. While Stephanie still talks about the importance of recording facts and events, she shows us how a journal can be so much more.

After briefly discussing the reasons for keeping a journal, and how to go about choosing a journal, Stephanie then presents us with many exercises and examples which help us to explore a whole range of deeper issues.

Using techniques such as free association, observing your internal and extenal environments, reflection, venting and many others we learn how to make our journal writing more interesting.

There are many reasons for keeping a journal, and many ways of journal writing. Stephanie covers just about all of them in this book. Some of the exercises here may appeal to you, some may not. The trick is to pick what works for you, and just write. This is probably the best book I've come across to help you get started.

Review: The reasons I won't be coming by Elliot Perlman

Released after his award-winning novel 'Three Dollars' but before his massive work 'Seven types of ambiguity', this collection of short stories by Elliot Perlman shares many characteristics of both those other books.

Each of these nine stories, to my mind, deals with an aspect of loss - the loss of friends, lovers, family; the loss of innocence; the loss of hope and the loss of life. Perlman's great skill is in showing us how his characters deal with these dilemmas, or, in some cases, fail to deal with them.

In this respect the stories remind me very much of 'Three dollars'. I suspect that many of the stories were written before that first novel because you can see in them the development of Perlman's style. His writing is imbued with a deep social conscience, exploring the lives of those living on the fringes of society.

Perlman is obviously well read, his writing being littered with many obscure literary references, reminding me very much of his second novel 'Seven types of ambiguity', which referred to the work of William Empson (among many others). My favourite story in this collection is 'I was only in a childish way', which refers to the work of Russian poet Osip Mandelstam. I'd never heard of this writer, and one of the great strengths of Perlman's writing is that it inspires me to do further reading.

It's interesting to note also, that this story is one of few in this collection that contains a sizable portion of dialogue. I think some reviewers have criticised Perlman's writing for containing too much narration and not enough dialogue. While I enjoy all of Perlman's writing, I do think the inclusion of dialogue makes the story more readable.

If, like me, you've read Perlman's novels first, I think you will enjoy this collection of stories. If you haven't read any of his writing, then this is a great place to start.