A most excellent story on Thoreau! I too have often wondered why he's so lauded as an environmentalist when in actuality he was a lazy land squatter. A far better writer and role model for environmentalism is the great writer Edward Abbey, whose works I became familiar with after a trip to Moab, Utah long ago. "Desert Solitaire" and "The Monkey Wrench Gang" are by far a better books than "on Walden Pond."
Also you should submit this story to The Nib. I'll send you the details.
Thanks! I love The Nib so much I've never thought of pitching them. I will do that! I've never read any of Edward Abbey's work, but I've read a little about him. I'll read "Desert Solitaire" and "The Monkey Wrench Gang", they look right up my alley.
I very much enjoyed this “visual essay” if simply not for the story itself. For the same reason graphic novels aren’t my jam, and because I am old, maybe it took me a minute to adapt. You are always a source of encouragement in my creativity quest. Thanks for giving us a sneak (free) preview.
I'm glad you enjoyed it. We all have our own literary preferences. That what makes the world so bountiful for creatives! I found during COVID that some of the only things I could read and remember were graphic novels.
Thankfully, I can know focus on long, dense paragraphs again. But that experience definitely opened a new creative lane for me.
I'm always grateful that you take the time to read, like, and comment on my work.
Loved this and didn’t know about it. How about a whole book of these on the great masters and mistresses of literature? I’d buy that and give to my granddaughters after enjoying myself... in print.
That is a great idea! And much more commercial than some of the other thoughts I've had. I'm going to brainstorm some figures I'd like to write about and start looking for more intriguing stories.
One fun thing I recently learned as I've started digging deeper into Transcendentalism and Thoreau (mostly out of my own curiosity and not consciously for work) that Louisa May Alcott was neighbors with Thoreau and that he was her school teacher for a period, and that she not only had a crush on Thoreau but she loosely based the cute neighbor boy in Little Women on Thoreau.
Fascinating story! Not one I’ve come across yet. Here’s a fun tidbit - the land Thoreau lived on was owned by Emerson. So he wasn’t really the squatter he made himself out to be.
He's such an interesting figure to me. A book that you might enjoy if you haven't read it already, is American Bloomsbury by Susan Cheever. She talks about how Emerson, Thoreau, Louisa May Alcott, Margret Fuller and Nathaniel Hawthorne were all connected living in Concord at the same time.
I toss my coin into the pond and see rewards for following the short haikus , but as a special treat the historical figures of Concord rise to realms of life that still motivates readers to see the future value of American thinkers a century ago that needs to spur in the horses side environmental consciousness and free thinking from your pen.
A most excellent story on Thoreau! I too have often wondered why he's so lauded as an environmentalist when in actuality he was a lazy land squatter. A far better writer and role model for environmentalism is the great writer Edward Abbey, whose works I became familiar with after a trip to Moab, Utah long ago. "Desert Solitaire" and "The Monkey Wrench Gang" are by far a better books than "on Walden Pond."
Also you should submit this story to The Nib. I'll send you the details.
Thanks! I love The Nib so much I've never thought of pitching them. I will do that! I've never read any of Edward Abbey's work, but I've read a little about him. I'll read "Desert Solitaire" and "The Monkey Wrench Gang", they look right up my alley.
Another good read is “Desert Cabal,” by Amy Irvine. It’s her response to Abbey.
I very much enjoyed this “visual essay” if simply not for the story itself. For the same reason graphic novels aren’t my jam, and because I am old, maybe it took me a minute to adapt. You are always a source of encouragement in my creativity quest. Thanks for giving us a sneak (free) preview.
I'm glad you enjoyed it. We all have our own literary preferences. That what makes the world so bountiful for creatives! I found during COVID that some of the only things I could read and remember were graphic novels.
Thankfully, I can know focus on long, dense paragraphs again. But that experience definitely opened a new creative lane for me.
I'm always grateful that you take the time to read, like, and comment on my work.
Loved this and didn’t know about it. How about a whole book of these on the great masters and mistresses of literature? I’d buy that and give to my granddaughters after enjoying myself... in print.
That is a great idea! And much more commercial than some of the other thoughts I've had. I'm going to brainstorm some figures I'd like to write about and start looking for more intriguing stories.
One fun thing I recently learned as I've started digging deeper into Transcendentalism and Thoreau (mostly out of my own curiosity and not consciously for work) that Louisa May Alcott was neighbors with Thoreau and that he was her school teacher for a period, and that she not only had a crush on Thoreau but she loosely based the cute neighbor boy in Little Women on Thoreau.
Totally a tale worthy of telling! 😍
I enjoyed this entire post, Jason, for what that's worth. And, thank you for the follow on Twitter!
Fascinating story! Not one I’ve come across yet. Here’s a fun tidbit - the land Thoreau lived on was owned by Emerson. So he wasn’t really the squatter he made himself out to be.
He's such an interesting figure to me. A book that you might enjoy if you haven't read it already, is American Bloomsbury by Susan Cheever. She talks about how Emerson, Thoreau, Louisa May Alcott, Margret Fuller and Nathaniel Hawthorne were all connected living in Concord at the same time.
Oooo! I may have heard about this, but forgot. Thanks for reminding me.
I toss my coin into the pond and see rewards for following the short haikus , but as a special treat the historical figures of Concord rise to realms of life that still motivates readers to see the future value of American thinkers a century ago that needs to spur in the horses side environmental consciousness and free thinking from your pen.
Brilliant! Thanks, Richard!