What does it mean, in your opinion, to write the environment? What authors, artists, poets do you think successfully wrote the environment this semester?
To me, writing the environment can mean a lot of different things. I think that in order to write the environment one needs to have an understanding of what the environment is. When someone asks me what my definition of the environment is, automatically what comes to mind is the natural world. At the same time, an environment can be a college campus or even a city where one resides. But if my task was to write the environment, I think that automatically my paper would be about the natural world and the things in it. I think that Pollan did a good job writing the environment because he focuses on a main thing (such as the apple or marijuana) and then writes what he knows about it's existence and presents it to the reader in a way that can make them see a different side of an object that seems so plain and ordinary to us. As far as artists, I think that Andy Goldsworthy did an amazing job of using what is natural and what we see everyday, and creating it into something beautiful.
I think that the term “writing the environment” is up for personal interpretation, but like Alysia said, to write the environment you need to understand it. I think that “writing the environment” means creating the environment, or defining it (as in giving it definition). Pollan definitely “wrote the environment” according to my crude definition. Pollan made the evironment easily accessible for people who are not environmental scientists. This wasn’t just his actual writing style, this was in his ideas and the ways that he views the environment. He gave it a voice and a personality, such as the tulip or the apple. Although I really enjoyed the other texts that we read (really I did enjoy reading them) I would not consider them “writing the environment” by my definition alone.
When I think of the environment the natural world comes into my mind. Trees, flowers, plants, and animals come into my mind. When registering for this class, I wasn’t sure it was about the natural world but there was a possibility that environment might focus more on our community and our surroundings. The class was mostly about the natural world but there was a fair amount about the community and our surroundings. Writing the environment made me more aware of the difference between the natural world and our surroundings. It made me appreciate the simple things in life, like trees, leaves, flowers, and grass are some examples. I liked Michael Pollan because his book, “The Botany of Desire”, was very interesting. he talked about the simple things in life like the apple, tulip, potato, and marijuana which I found most interesting. I also found Jon Krakaure’s book “Into the Wild” very interesting, because it is about this young man, my age, enjoying the simple things in life and living in the wild, rather than living a luxurious life in the suburbs.
I still have yet to understand the phrase, actually, all stemming from what one sees as the environment, or "nature". However, when I think of "writing the environment", initially I think of readings like Michael Pollan and the ideas of Andy Goldsworthy. I prefer the style of writing the environment from a non-fiction point of view that offers you the ability to interpret the data presented to you, and then use them in useful ways. Read about a side of the GMO debate, go out and buy organic. That sort of style. Or with the case of Goldsworthy, his beliefs of the interconnectedness of everything and taking that into play when trying to understand the environment. But like I said, I'm still struggling to understand.
To write the environment is a task that is uniquely individual. Throughout the semester I have observed the distinctiveness in each writer’s voice when it comes to the environment. Each individual has their own point of view and mind set about the issues facing and coexistence with the natural world. Annie Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek revealed multiple themes about nature and its duel nature. She wrote about the pleaser and pain which exist in our world around us. Pollen’s work allowed us a very new perspective about the world we live in and the interactions we humans are a part of. His work was through productive and offered a completely new outlook on our existence. I found his book the most inspiring to read and I haven’t looked at a garden the same way since. The nature poetry we read was interesting but complex in its deeper look into natural world. The meanings of each poem was harder to decipher but the individual pieces we more intriguing to breakdown because each person had their own understanding of each poem. Through each person’s understandings we were able to see how the environment could mean so many different things to different people. Prodigal Summer offered a story in a living environment which we could relate to being American. It was more about the relationships in the environment then the landscapes itself. Ending with Into the Wild brought us even more of the American landscape but a different view point of it. Into the Wild brought the idea of returning to the natural environment to the forefront. These authors and poets all shared with us their views and experiences in the environment with us through their written word but I still think it to write the environment is unique to each person. To me the concept of writing the environment means simply to compose one thoughts, views, experiences, and feeling about the world which sourrounds us here on Earth.
Annie Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek was the most amazing example of how to write the environment. She writes without a filter, capturing the beauty and the horror of nature at the same time. She layers the wondrous occurrences, their enormity, and the messages and deep meanings within the natural world, allowing the reader to appreciate nature in its truest form. Since reading her book, I have tried to look at not just nature, but everything around me, in the same way that she looks at her tree with the lights in it. It’s not easy!
There are other ways to write the environment without being as elaborate as Dillard. Andy Goldsworthy, in my opinion, is not just an artist but he is also a writer. The titles of his artwork are actually little stories. Simple as they may be, they offer yet another way to connect with nature, and esppecially his type of artwork. By using small stories to describe his work, Goldsworthy is teaching us that every element in nature has its own story to tell.
I have immense respect for anyone who can take the story that nature is always telling and put it into words for the rest of us to comprehend, learn from, and enjoy.
In my opinion, I don’t think that there is one particular way to write the environment. Not only do people come from so many different kinds of environments, but the way they perceive and experience them also differs. Therefore, there really is no right or wrong, good or bad, way to write the environment. Also, I do not think that anyone really has the right to judge whether an author, artist, or poet successfully wrote the environment. Their work is deeply personal and is satiated with their own experiences. Just because we do not form a connection with it does not mean that it is “unsuccessful.”
With that said, I definitely formed a connection with some more than others. Krakauer’s Into the Wild really struck a cord within me. Chris McCandless embarked on a journey, or right of passage, that all adolescents dream about. I think that in learning his story, people everywhere live vicariously through him and imagine themselves leaving the rat race behind in search of something more.
I also formed a connection with Michael Pollan’s Botany of Desire. I have never been into science, let alone environmental science and yet I found myself deeply interested in the points that he was making. The idea that plants have a large impact on our lives, other than the obvious reasons such as producing oxygen, was never really something that I had thought about.
Though I am still not an environmental scientist, and never will be, in walking away from this course I definitely acknowledge more and more the effects that the environment can have on my life.
To me, writing the environment can mean a lot of different things. I think that in order to write the environment one needs to have an understanding of what the environment is. When someone asks me what my definition of the environment is, automatically what comes to mind is the natural world. At the same time, an environment can be a college campus or even a city where one resides. But if my task was to write the environment, I think that automatically my paper would be about the natural world and the things in it. I think that Pollan did a good job writing the environment because he focuses on a main thing (such as the apple or marijuana) and then writes what he knows about it's existence and presents it to the reader in a way that can make them see a different side of an object that seems so plain and ordinary to us. As far as artists, I think that Andy Goldsworthy did an amazing job of using what is natural and what we see everyday, and creating it into something beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI think that the term “writing the environment” is up for personal interpretation, but like Alysia said, to write the environment you need to understand it. I think that “writing the environment” means creating the environment, or defining it (as in giving it definition).
ReplyDeletePollan definitely “wrote the environment” according to my crude definition. Pollan made the evironment easily accessible for people who are not environmental scientists. This wasn’t just his actual writing style, this was in his ideas and the ways that he views the environment. He gave it a voice and a personality, such as the tulip or the apple. Although I really enjoyed the other texts that we read (really I did enjoy reading them) I would not consider them “writing the environment” by my definition alone.
When I think of the environment the natural world comes into my mind. Trees, flowers, plants, and animals come into my mind. When registering for this class, I wasn’t sure it was about the natural world but there was a possibility that environment might focus more on our community and our surroundings. The class was mostly about the natural world but there was a fair amount about the community and our surroundings. Writing the environment made me more aware of the difference between the natural world and our surroundings. It made me appreciate the simple things in life, like trees, leaves, flowers, and grass are some examples. I liked Michael Pollan because his book, “The Botany of Desire”, was very interesting. he talked about the simple things in life like the apple, tulip, potato, and marijuana which I found most interesting. I also found Jon Krakaure’s book “Into the Wild” very interesting, because it is about this young man, my age, enjoying the simple things in life and living in the wild, rather than living a luxurious life in the suburbs.
ReplyDeleteI still have yet to understand the phrase, actually, all stemming from what one sees as the environment, or "nature". However, when I think of "writing the environment", initially I think of readings like Michael Pollan and the ideas of Andy Goldsworthy. I prefer the style of writing the environment from a non-fiction point of view that offers you the ability to interpret the data presented to you, and then use them in useful ways. Read about a side of the GMO debate, go out and buy organic. That sort of style. Or with the case of Goldsworthy, his beliefs of the interconnectedness of everything and taking that into play when trying to understand the environment. But like I said, I'm still struggling to understand.
ReplyDeleteTo write the environment is a task that is uniquely individual. Throughout the semester I have observed the distinctiveness in each writer’s voice when it comes to the environment. Each individual has their own point of view and mind set about the issues facing and coexistence with the natural world. Annie Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek revealed multiple themes about nature and its duel nature. She wrote about the pleaser and pain which exist in our world around us. Pollen’s work allowed us a very new perspective about the world we live in and the interactions we humans are a part of. His work was through productive and offered a completely new outlook on our existence. I found his book the most inspiring to read and I haven’t looked at a garden the same way since. The nature poetry we read was interesting but complex in its deeper look into natural world. The meanings of each poem was harder to decipher but the individual pieces we more intriguing to breakdown because each person had their own understanding of each poem. Through each person’s understandings we were able to see how the environment could mean so many different things to different people. Prodigal Summer offered a story in a living environment which we could relate to being American. It was more about the relationships in the environment then the landscapes itself. Ending with Into the Wild brought us even more of the American landscape but a different view point of it. Into the Wild brought the idea of returning to the natural environment to the forefront. These authors and poets all shared with us their views and experiences in the environment with us through their written word but I still think it to write the environment is unique to each person. To me the concept of writing the environment means simply to compose one thoughts, views, experiences, and feeling about the world which sourrounds us here on Earth.
ReplyDeleteAnnie Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek was the most amazing example of how to write the environment. She writes without a filter, capturing the beauty and the horror of nature at the same time. She layers the wondrous occurrences, their enormity, and the messages and deep meanings within the natural world, allowing the reader to appreciate nature in its truest form. Since reading her book, I have tried to look at not just nature, but everything around me, in the same way that she looks at her tree with the lights in it. It’s not easy!
ReplyDeleteThere are other ways to write the environment without being as elaborate as Dillard. Andy Goldsworthy, in my opinion, is not just an artist but he is also a writer. The titles of his artwork are actually little stories. Simple as they may be, they offer yet another way to connect with nature, and esppecially his type of artwork. By using small stories to describe his work, Goldsworthy is teaching us that every element in nature has its own story to tell.
I have immense respect for anyone who can take the story that nature is always telling and put it into words for the rest of us to comprehend, learn from, and enjoy.
In my opinion, I don’t think that there is one particular way to write the environment. Not only do people come from so many different kinds of environments, but the way they perceive and experience them also differs. Therefore, there really is no right or wrong, good or bad, way to write the environment. Also, I do not think that anyone really has the right to judge whether an author, artist, or poet successfully wrote the environment. Their work is deeply personal and is satiated with their own experiences. Just because we do not form a connection with it does not mean that it is “unsuccessful.”
ReplyDeleteWith that said, I definitely formed a connection with some more than others. Krakauer’s Into the Wild really struck a cord within me. Chris McCandless embarked on a journey, or right of passage, that all adolescents dream about. I think that in learning his story, people everywhere live vicariously through him and imagine themselves leaving the rat race behind in search of something more.
I also formed a connection with Michael Pollan’s Botany of Desire. I have never been into science, let alone environmental science and yet I found myself deeply interested in the points that he was making. The idea that plants have a large impact on our lives, other than the obvious reasons such as producing oxygen, was never really something that I had thought about.
Though I am still not an environmental scientist, and never will be, in walking away from this course I definitely acknowledge more and more the effects that the environment can have on my life.