In his New Yorker essay, ”The Problem of Nature Writing,” which also appeared in the Spark Birds book from Orion Magazine, Jonathan Franzen stated, “Sometimes I consider it a failing, a mark of writerly competition, that I’d so much rather take private joy in birds, and in nature generally than read another person’s book about them.”
Franzen addresses the many reasons why nature books sit unread on bookshelves and articles languish between the covers of unopened magazines. He does not mention the scarcity of available time, which is a limiting factor for my own reading, and I am sure others share that experience.
Nevertheless, Franzen addresses priorities, his implied question being, why read about nature when you can go see it directly? I answered that question today by traveling to Hiwassee Refuge near Birchwood, Tennessee to see the Sandhill Cranes. It was not my first trip this year and I will make one or two more before winter ends.
Read the full text on my Substack publication. https://rayzimmerman.substack.com/p/the-problem-of-nature-writing-a-response
Franzen addresses the many reasons why nature books sit unread on bookshelves and articles languish between the covers of unopened magazines. He does not mention the scarcity of available time, which is a limiting factor for my own reading, and I am sure others share that experience.
Nevertheless, Franzen addresses priorities, his implied question being, why read about nature when you can go see it directly? I answered that question today by traveling to Hiwassee Refuge near Birchwood, Tennessee to see the Sandhill Cranes. It was not my first trip this year and I will make one or two more before winter ends.
Read the full text on my Substack publication. https://rayzimmerman.substack.com/p/the-problem-of-nature-writing-a-response
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