This is an updated version of a post that appeared on my Substack publication on October 9, 2025.
rayzimmerman.substack.com/p/the-hour-of-land-has-come-again. 
Updates appear at the end of this article.

A few weeks ago, Donald Trump announced plans to complete the 211-mile Ambler Road project through the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve and adjacent lands to open the area for mining. The project has long been debated and was not approved by the Biden administration. I reread a portion of The Hour of Land by Tempest Williams shortly after hearing about the Project. I have never visited the park. 

Among Williams’ comments on this National Park was this gem, “I return to the wilderness to remember what I have forgotten, that the world can be wholesome and beautiful, that the harmony and integrity of ecosystems at peace is a mirror to what we have lost.”

The Chapter was previously published as an Orion Magazine article, and a link to the online edition is available in the notes below. This is also true of the Chapter on the Gulf Islands National Seashore, which she wrote shortly after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

The articles are well worth a read, but better yet, order and read the book. It is filled with lovely stories about our National Parks.

Portions of this book were originally published as articles in Orion Magazine. It included chapters on the following National Park Service units. 

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.
Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota.
Acadia National Park, Maine.
Gettysburg National Military Park, Pennsylvania.
Effigy Mounds National Monument, Iowa.
Big Bend National Park, Texas.
Canyonlands National Park, Utah.
Alcatraz Island, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, California.
Glacier National Park, Montana.
Cesar E. Chavez National Monument, California, and the Future.
“The Glorious Indifference of Wilderness” in Orion Magazine is an earlier version of the Chapter, “Gates of the Arctic National Park, Alaska.”
“The Gulf Between Us,” in Orion Magazine, is an earlier version of the Chapter, “Gulf Islands National Seashore: Florida and Mississippi.”
Reviews of The Hour of Land appear on Goodreads.

Comments from the National Parks Conservation Association regarding the road through the Gates of the Arctic National Park appear here:
 https://www.npca.org/articles/11036-gates-of-the-arctic-scenes-from-a-park-at-a-crossroads.

Comments from The Wilderness Society appear here: 
https://www.wilderness.org/wild-places/alaska/road-building-gates-arctic-national-p

Other Recent Actions

The Trump administration sold oil leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, just as the first Trump administration did on January 6, 2021. https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF12006

The administration plans to complete the road through the Izembec National Wildlife Refuge. 
https://www.fws.gov/refuicle ge/izembek. 

The administration has revealed plans to weaken the enforcement of the Endangered Species Act.
Acthttps://apnews.com/article/9bf4541d89e6444783814e53302ce479

The US Forest Service has announced its intent to rescind the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. 
https://www.wilderness.org/articles/press-release/attack-roadless-forests-officially-underway. 

This post previously appeared on Substack, August 21, 2023:
rayzimmerman.substack.com/p/roots-of-southern-nature-writing

In an earlier edition, I cited four authors as early literary naturalists connected to Chattanooga, Tennessee. I know there are other Southern nature writers from the eras of Walker, Miles, Steele, and Torrey, and I would love to hear about them, for nature writing is as much about the author as the natural world.

I welcome the mention of any names in the comment section with some trepidation. The number will likely exceed the time I have to read them all. Please mention them, nevertheless. You may catch the interest of another reader who will discover the joy of reading those works.

In this post, I present brief mentions of three of the earliest Southern nature writers.

William Bartram, 1739-1823

William Bartram of Philadelphia traveled in the American southeast between 1773 and 1777, recording lists of plants and sending specimens to Dr. John Fothergill in England for propagation. He wrote about the landscape, the indigenous people, and the settlers. James and Johnson of Philadelphia published Bartram’s book, now known as Bartram’s Travels, in 1791.

I have yet to discover any extensive comments on Tennessee in Bartram’s writings, other than a description of the Tennessee River, which he called the Cherokee River. He noted its outflow into the Ohio and, thus, the Mississippi. He also described the Tenasi River, which may have been the Little Tennessee River.

Bartram’s descriptions of indigenous people include the Seminole, Creek, Cherokee, and Choctaw, which he spelled Chactaw. I have discovered no references to the Chickasaw, which reinforces my belief that he did not include western Tennessee in his travels. He also described the Yuchi, which he spelled Uchi. He told of two adjoining towns that spoke different languages, the one Creek and the other Yuchi. Those villages were located on the “Chatta Uchi” River, likely the river now known as the Chattahoochee.

I have not read the full text, but I frequently return to my copy of The Library of America edition, which includes the 425-page Travels, a 100-page report to Dr. John Fothergill, a reply to inquiries about the region’s Indigenous people, and several shorter works. https://loa.org/writers/300-william-bartram.

The Great Naturalists, edited by Robert Huxley, includes a chapter about Bartram. 
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3037516651.

A Bartram Biography appears on the website of The Florida Museum.
https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/naturalists/bartram/.

Another appears on the website of The Georgia Historical Society: 
https://georgiahistory.com/education-outreach/online-exhibits/featured-historical-figures/william-bartram/brief-biography/.

I recently discovered Bartram’s Living Legacy, published by Mercer University Press, a volume with the entire text of the Travels, followed by essays from contemporary nature writers. Editor Dorinda G. Dallmeyer referred to Bartram as the Thoreau of the South. My aging eyes appreciate the typography with its larger font and spacing.

I have been reading the section on the Cherokee Country because it is near where I live in Tennessee, though it is more relevant to North Carolina. He traveled through Augusta, Georgia, and South Carolina to reach the region.

Christopher Camuto’s essay in the contemporary writers’ section is a nice concurrent read. He references his own book, Another Country, Journeying Toward the Cherokee Mountains.
 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8648595-bartram-s-living-legAndré

André Michaux 1746-1802

Michaux was among the early European botanists to explore the American South. He made several trips through Tennessee. Louis XVI appointed him to collect specimens shipped to France for preservation, propagation, and study. His son, FraAndré André Michaux, was also noteworthy. Their work seems to have become conflated in some references.

Although he wrote extensively about North America and its natural world, Michaux’s influence among English-speaking authors is limited because he wrote in French. This is less true for Botanists because Michaux’s name appears repeatedly in botanical nomenclature.

The abbreviated form of his name, “Michx,” appears after the Latinized names of several plants, crediting him with assigning them. A list of plants he named appears online: 
https://www.michaux.org/plantscarolina.htm:

Many plants are named in his honor. The Carolina Lily, Lilium michauxii, is one of many named for Michaux.
The Abbeville Press has issued The Trees of North America: Michaux and Redouté’s American Masterpiece with translated text. The publisher also included additional illustrations and an afterword by esteemed artist and writer David Allen Sibley. 
https://www.abbeville.com/products/the-trees-of-north-america 

The University of Alabama Press has released a collection of journals and letters translated from the original texts under the title André Michaux in North America. 
http://uapress.ua.edu/product/Andr%C3%A9-Michaux-in-North-America,7404.aspx  

His other works are primarily out of print, but some are available through used book vendors. Be sure you are getting a translation if you can’t read French. 

The Tennessee Native Plant Society includes Michaux in its Tennessee Botanist Hall of Fame. The document includes several brief biographies, so scroll to the end of the page for information on Michaux.
 https://www.tnps.org/hall-of-fame/ 

The website of the Tipton-Hanes Historic Site in northeast Tennessee includes information about Michaux’s visit to the region. He stayed at the house there on one of his visits to Tennessee. http://www.tipton-haynes.org/research/history/andre-michaux/ 

Mark Catesby 1683-1749

When I hear this name, I think of the lovely Catesby’s Trillium, Trillium catesbaei: 
https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/trillium_catesbaei.shtml.

I make this association because I first noticed the name Catesby shortly after moving to Chattanooga in 1990, and discovering the plant in flower. I was surprised to learn that he is sometimes called the father of American ornithology.

In his book, The Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands, Catesby made an exhaustive inventory of the natural world in these areas. He collected plant specimens and sent them to England for cultivation. An internet search of Catesby’s name revealed that the art world also celebrates him, and his prints are collectors’ items.

For Catesby’s full story, consult Patrick Dean’s book, Nature’s Messenger, Mark Catesby and His Adventures in a New World: ​https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62918246-nature-s-messenger.
​
The Great Naturalists, edited by Robert Huxley, includes a lovely article about Catesby by Steve Cafferty. This magnificent book is worthy of mention. The editor is the Head of Collections, Botany Department, the Natural History Museum, London. The stories begin with Aristotle and end with Asa Gray, the noted author of Gray’s Manual of Botany: https://huh.harvard.edu/book/grays-manual-botany.

My comments here only briefly introduce early nature writing in the Southeast and America in General. Additional authors are there to discover in Huxley’s book and elsewhere.

This article previously appeared on Substack, https://rayzimmerman.substack.com. 
​
I love to read, primarily works by nature writers, and to write book reviews. Some reviews are published, while others languish on my hard drive. At one time, this interest was focused on the West and the desert Southwest, so my bookshelves include numerous works by Joseph Wood Krutch, Edward Abbey, Terry Tempest Williams, Barry Lopez, and others. I may address those in a later story here, but I want to start close to home.

Early in 2022, I embarked on a new project to examine, in a focused way, works by Southern nature writers. I had already read works by several Southern nature writers, but soon discovered many more than I anticipated. I narrowed the focus to Tennessee, but even that task seems daunting. Since I live in Chattanooga, beginning my discussion with Chattanooga's scribes seems appropriate.

I had already read some works by Robert Sparks Walker and Emma Bell Miles, as well as Bradford Torrey’s Spring Notes from Tennessee. Torrey was no Southerner, but he wrote about Florida and Tennessee, among many other locations, in his extensive body of published works.  I later discovered that The Living Year by Mary Q. Steele was set on Signal Mountain, and I also included comments on that work.

This is not an academic paper but a review of the works with some biographical information on three of the four authors. These authors are deceased, so I am reviewing past nature writing here. I would love to tell you about contemporary Chattanooga nature writing, but I must first discover the contemporary Chattanooga nature writers and read their works. You are welcome to suggest a few authors in the comments section.

Emma Bell Miles

Emma Bell Miles was a child of the mountains who lived in two worlds. She attended art school in St. Louis but returned to Walden Ridge to marry and raise a family. She was at home with Walden Ridge mountaineers and Chattanooga socialites, many of whom were patrons who purchased her art. Miles lived in poverty and suffered from ill health throughout her life. She died at age thirty-nine of tuberculosis.

She wrote for the Chattanooga Times, sold her artwork to local patrons, and published poems and short stories in Harper's and other magazines. She largely supported her husband and children. Her husband also suffered from ill health. His work was irregular, and often the children were left in his care while she worked at the newspaper and lived in town.

Dr. Peggy Douglas, a Chattanooga musician, playwright, and poet, wrote and produced the musical Twisted Roots after extensive research on Miles in the special collections of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Library. 

There is a substantial article about Miles in the online version of the Tennessee Encyclopedia. 
https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entries/emma-bell-miles/.

Our Southern Birds includes descriptions of several bird species and Miles’ drawings of each species. The entries include descriptions of her encounters with the species. A scanned version is available as a free download from Google Books. Recent reprints are available for purchase from various sources. 

The Spirit of the Mountains is her best-known work and has achieved respect from American folklorists. Miles chronicled the music and verse of the mountain people.

Miles also spoke out on the treatment of Appalachian women with a proto-feminist voice. Her words beamed with admiration for the mother of a newborn who provided a long list of things when asked if she wanted anything while her husband was in town. 

She ended her book with the hope that mountain culture will come into its own and with a lament for all that the people have lost as Appalachia succumbs to a progress that impoverishes rather than enriches.

The Common Lot and Other Stories is a recent publication by the Ohio University Press (Athens, Ohio). The stories are about Appalachian life, particularly women's lives. Many of the stories were first published in Harper's. 

Strains from a Dulcimore (sic) is a posthumous collection of poetry. The spelling of Dulcimer in the title is an Appalachian variant of the word. Some of the verses may have appeared in a chapbook that Miles self-published and sold during her lifetime, as discussed in her journals, published by Ohio University Press. 
Stephen Cox, the special collections librarian at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Library, edited Once I Too Had Wings: The Journals of Emma Bell Miles 1908-1918. He transformed handwritten diaries into published text.
 
Cox mentioned several other works Miles described in her journals. These appear to be lost works. Several were submitted to publishers, but no copies remain. 

Emma Bell Miles is a biography by Kay Baker Gaston. It is out of print but available in some libraries and from used book dealers. (1985, Walden's Ridge Historical Association).

Mary Q. Steele

Mary Q. Steele was born into a life of writing. Her mother, Christine Govan, was a writer. Steele attended the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Her husband, William O. Steele, wrote young adult action stories.

The Living Year: An Almanac for My Survivors by Mary Q. Steele is among my favorite discoveries. Steele was primarily an author of young adult and children's books, but these pages reveal a keen naturalist’s eye and a heart for nature that mature readers will appreciate.

She watched as a spider spun a web one day, and the blue-gray gnatcatcher in her yard built a nest on another. A fox sauntered down the road. She listened to the waterthrush's music. She picked up a snail and saw the eyestalk protrude from the head.

Most of these adventures in the natural world took place within thirty miles of her Signal Mountain home. As contemporary nature authors emphasize nature close to home, it is comforting to know that this naturalist did so with a book published in 1972.

“For the world that has grown old and wrinkled and feeble is suddenly made young and beautiful and vibrant enough to break your heart.” From the “April” section of The Living Year. This nature-through-the-seasons approach is popular today and may owe its popularity to A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold (published in 1949). 

Though out of print, The Living Year is available through libraries and used book dealers, as are many of her children’s books. Her young adult and children’s books are also set in the natural world, with titles such as Anna's Garden Songs and The Crow and Mrs. Gaddy. 

Spring Notes from Tennessee

Bradford Torrey was an ornithologist and Tracel writer. He spent several weeks in Tennessee birdwatching on Missionary Ridge, Signal Mountain, Lookout Mountain, and at other locations. He also recorded some encounters with Civil War veterans, both Federal and Confederate, but was primarily concerned with landmarks and bird watching. He commented that real estate seemed to be Chattanooga’s primary business interest.

My Article about Robert Sparks Wlaker appears on my Substack page. 
https://rayzimmerman.substack.com/p/poet-and-literary-naturalist

This post previously appeared on my Substack publication, https://rayzimmerman.substack.com.

Joro Spider Photo by Ray Zimmerman.

Poetry
 “Wild Geese” by Mary Oliver perennially surfaces, and I smile every time I read it. I turn to my copy of Bright Wings, a book of poems about birds, edited by former US Poet Laureate Billy Collins and richly illustrated by David Sibly, to read this poem. Online copies abound,

“Crows” by Mary Oliver is a poem I discovered in Lyanda Lynn Haupt’s book Crow Planet.

J Drew Lanham, America’s best-known Black birdwatcher, wrote “9 Rules for the Black Birdwatcher,” which appears on the website of Orion Magazine.



“The Smoky the Bear Sutra” is a fabulous poem by Gary Snyder. When he first published it, he appended the words, “May be reproduced free forever.” https://sacred-texts.com/bud/bear.htm

“In Mystic” by Joy Harjo appears in her book Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings.

Nonfiction

North with the Spring by Edwin Way Teale is nature writing as travel. It was the first in his Pulitzer Prize-winning series, The American Seasons.

The Living Year by Mary Q. Steele is a lovely nature-through-the-seasons book I discovered after reading an excerpt in the noteworthy anthology The Woods Stretched for Miles. The Living Year is out of print, but I obtained a copy from a used book dealer. She wrote this book in a style popularized by Aldo Leopold in his book A Sand County Almanac several years ago.

Ecology of a Cracker Childhood is a nature memoir by Janisse Ray. I reread it occasionally. Her other titles are well worth a read, as are those of any of these authors.

 “The Cowboy and His Cow” is a nature polemic by Edward Abbey opposing grazing on federal land. He once read it at the University of Wyoming, a school with ties to beef production, and noted the comments shouted from the audience.

 “Speaking of Nature” by Robin Wall Kimmerer is an essay on the relationship between language and ideas. Speaking from a Native American perspective, she mentions the “Indian Boarding Schools” as an attempt to erase Native Culture. It appears on Orion Magazine’s website.

Thirteen Ways to Smell a Tree by David George Haskell is an appeal to reaffirm our connection to the natural world. It was published in the UK, but Blackwell’s ships free to the US.

Fictional works in which the natural world plays a significant role.

The Sky, The Stars, The Wilderness is a collection of short stories by Rick Bass, and it is a great place to start.

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens is excellent, despite the controversy surrounding the author.

I have yet to read The Woods of Fannin County by Janisse Ray, but it is on my list.

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway is a classic story of nature as an adversary.

The Bear, by William Faulkner, is a story of a vanishing wilderness.

Resources and how-to publications for nature writers.

Orion Magazine features some of the best nature writing. Follow their examples.

The Greatest Nature Essay Ever by Brian Doyle is an essay on how to write a nature essay.

Tell It Slant is a how-to book on writing nonfiction with practice exercises at the end of each chapter. The chapter on engaging the senses is foundational.

The Naturalist by Barry Lopez is an essay on his relationship to the natural world and on becoming a naturalist.

I have been reading Robert Sparks Walker's book, Lookout: the Story of a Mountain. He begins with the geology, and much of the story conforms to what I hear from contemporary authors. While reading, I compiled a list of specific terms he used. They are still in use today. Here is the list. 

Geologic Words used in Chapter One.
Syncline https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syncline#Characteristics 
Anticline https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anticline 
Devonian Black Shale https://www.usgs.gov/publications/geology-devonian-black-shales-appalachian-basin 
Chert https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chert 
Fort Payne Chert https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Payne_Formation 
Floyd Shale https://www2.ogb.state.al.us/documents/misc_ogb/Floyd%20Shale.pdf 
Bangor Limestone https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangor_Limestone 
Walden Sandstone https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/geology/publications/pp/587/sec1.htm 
Missionary Ridge https://www.anyplaceamerica.com/directory/tn/hamilton-county-47065/ridges/missionary-ridge-1303504/ 
Shinbone Ridge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinbone_Ridge 
Oxmore Sandstone https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Geolex/UnitRefs/HartselleRefs_1997.html 
Blastoids https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blastoid 
Bryozoa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryozoa 
Iron Ore - an excellent Wikipedia article will tell you more than you want to know about mining, refining, and selling iron ore. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_ore 
Talus Cave https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talus_cave 
Angillaceous https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_mineral refers to the clay content.
Calcareous https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcareous 
Caprock https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caprock

 Published Works10/16/2024
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I am now publishing regularly on Substack.

You can find me on Instagram with the handle
@cranesaremypassion. 

Greetings from my corner of the natural world.  My poem, “Primal,” was runner-up in the Chattanooga Writers Guild July writing contest. The winner was “Ocean Balm,” a lovely poem by Becky Parker. You can view the poems here. 

Items published in The Hellbender Press and The Chattanooga Pulse appear in groups at the end of this list.

My essay, “How I Became a Poet,” appeared in the online literary magazine Waxing and Waning from April Gloaming Publishing. 
https://www.waxingandwaning.org/issue-11/how-i-became-a-poet-by-ray-zimmerman-_cnf_/.

I told the story of Audubon Acres in The Tennessee Conservationist: 
https://digital.tnconservationist.org/publication/?m=58294&i=725674&p=22&ver=html5.

My article about freshwater snorkeling in Appalachia appeared in Appalachian Voice. 
https://appvoices.org/2022/08/25/snorkelers-explore-appalachia/.
An earlier version appears here: https://appvoices.org/2020/09/09/snorkel-appalachia-freshwater/.

My article about hawk migration also appeared in Appalachian Voice: https://appvoices.org/tag/hawk-count/.

My short story “Life After Writing” won an award from the Chattanooga Writers Guild and appears on their website 
https://chattanoogawritersguild.files.wordpress.com/2020/12/10-2020-ray-zimmerman-life-after-writing.pdf. 

My poem “Hellbender: was recognized by Tennessee Magazine and appeared on their website: 
https://www.tnmagazine.org/poets-playground-nov-2020-winners/. It is the last in a long series of poems, so you have to scroll down.

Published in The Hellbender Press

My interview with a rattlesnake expert: https://hellbenderpress.org/news/rattled.

I reviewed Sounds Wild and Broken, a Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction finalist by David George Haskell: 
https://hellbenderpress.org/news/the-sounds-of-science.

My article on the North Carolina Snorkel Trail: https://hellbenderpress.org/news/wnc-creek-snorkels.

My article about Tennessee’s wintering Sandhill Cranes: https://hellbenderpress.org/news/sandhills-fly-in.

My story about the Tennessee Aquarium program to restore Lake Sturgeon in the Tennessee River: 
https://hellbenderpress.org/news/sturgeon-release.

My story about an exhibit of art made from washed ashore plastics: 
https://hellbenderpress.org/news/like-a-message-in-a-bottle-plastic-washed-ashore-signals-a-growing-threat-to-our-health.   

The Trails and Trilliums Festival at Tennessee’s South Cumberland State Park: 
https://hellbenderpress.org/news/feedbag/hike-and-learn-at-trails-and-trilliums-festival-in-south-cumberland-state-park.

Get off the Grid Fest in Chattanooga: 
https://hellbenderpress.org/news/middle-tennessee-is-a-leader-in-electric-car-production-what-better-place-to-celebrate-alternative-energy.

Keeping cigarette buts out of the waterways. 
https://hellbenderpress.org/news/keep-your-butts-out-of-the-tennessee-river.

The Story of a Wildlife Rehabilitator in Chattanooga: 
https://hellbenderpress.org/news/wildlife-rehabbers-return-birds-to-the-sky-in-chattanooga.

An interview with Hellbender researcher Brian Miller:
https://hellbenderpress.org/news/hellbenders-falling-off-highland-rim-of-tennessee.

The Hellbender restoration project at the Chattanooga Zoo: 
https://hellbenderpress.org/item/65-zoo-researchers-raising-hell-benders-in-chattanooga.     

Published in The Chattanooga Pulse

A review of a book of poetry by Helga Kidder: 
https://www.chattanoogapulse.com/arts_entertainment/the-written-word/reviewing-helga-kidders-latest-collection-of-poetry/.

A review of a book of poetry by Finn Bille: 
https://www.chattanoogapulse.com/arts_entertainment/the-written-word/reviewing-finn-bille-s-new-book-of-poetry-the-kings-coin/ 

My article about Robert Sparks Walker, poet, and literary naturalist: 
https://www.chattanoogapulse.com/features/pulitzer-prize-nominee-has-won-all-the-hearts-of-chattanooga/.

An article about the poetry open mic scene in Chattanooga, published just before Covid-19 hit: 
https://www.chattanoogapulse.com/features/chatty-on-the-mic/.

An article about freshwater snorkeling:
https://www.chattanoogapulse.com/arts_entertainment/entertainment-news/from-page-to-screen-casper-cox-searches-for-hidden-rivers/.

A prize-winning essay: 
​https://www.chattanoogapulse.com/arts_entertainment/the-written-word/the-dance-of-leaves/

​

​One of nature’s poems I photographed on January 10, 2025. It makes a nice image for this post on why I write poetry. But first, a word about my new book, It’s Just a Phase. 

We sold out of the first print run in early December, but my publisher has informed me that the second print run is now finished and be in stock. I am happy copies will again be available from Walnut Street Publishing.
I learned today that Humanities Tennessee will include a review of It’s Just a Phase in the statewide newsletter, “Chapter 16.” I never dreamed of this kind of exposure. The post will include a review, author headshot, cover image, and one of the poems.

I also learned today that I will be included in an authors’ panel at the Trails and Trilliums event, April 4-6 at Beersheba Springs Assembly on the Cumberland Plateau. Park Rangers and other Naturalists from across the state will attend this workshop.

I will also have a book signing at the Crazy Book Lady in Acworth, Georgia on Saturday, February 22.

On Wednesday, February 19 at 6:00 PM, I will offer a generative poetry workshop “Family and Other Animals” at Reve Coffee and Books in Hixson, Tennessee.

Another Diversion

I am putting the finishing touches on this edition on the night following the full moon. In Janisse Ray’s Journey in Place workshop presented via her Trackless Wild Substack: we renamed the full moons to reflect our location and experience. I renamed January the Moon of Rain and Flood because I once saw Glen Falls flowing at full volume after walking the path on muddy trails. I wrote the poem “Rain” to celebrate the event.

Like a poem that fills the heart to overflowing
rain covered the mountain just after the New Year.
Murmuring rivulets covered once dry leaves,
intersected paths and muddied trails,
muddied shoes and trouser legs.
I plunged through fecund mud and leaves,
became a mud man devoted to Sylvan gods.

Glen Falls became a roaring torrent,
deceived my ears.
Thinking it close, I forged ahead.
The cascade below the falls
became a booming choir.
Basses and contraltos reverberated
from hickory and oak.

I bowed before the splendor,
prepared to endure cold days ahead,
anticipated Equinox rebirth.

"Rain" first appeared in the journal Number One (now defunct), a Volunteer State Community College publication, in Gallatin, Tennessee. I republished it in my book, Healing and Conflict.

On this drier and colder January Night, I returned from a meeting of the Chattanooga Writers’ Guild around 8:00 pm and looked up to a clear sky to see Orion. As is my custom, I greeted the mighty hunter with the words, “Hello, Old Friend.” After all these years, he still doesn't reply.

The waning gibbous moon shined brightly to his north but did not obscure the hunter. He is one of the brightest winter constellations. Below him, the Dog Star, Syrius, shined brightly with Procyon to its north. Above Orion shone Aldebaron and one other star in the Hyades portion of Taurus. A few of the Pleiades burned brightly too.

I saw only bright Castor and Pollux of the Gemini twins above Procyon. I used the StarDate podcast to identify the nearby orange light as Mars. It is closest to the Earth now and, from our perspective, near the moon.
Why I Shouldn’t Write Poetry
I can think of a few compelling reasons not to write poetry before telling you why I do. If you don’t want to hear why I shouldn’t write poetry, skip to the next section of this edition. The final section includes exciting news for my new book, It’s Just a Phase. Some of them are beyond my fondest dreams.

The foremost reason not to write poetry is that it doesn’t pay. Guy Clark lamented this situation in his song “Cold Dog Soup.”

The small print run is a related issue. I once told a well-published fellow poet I was negotiating publication with a small press that used 500 copies as its standard print run. He told me this was a huge print run for a poetry book, and his comment filled me with foreboding.

At another time, a fiction publisher criticized me for telling people that another book had surpassed 300 copies. He said that people would think the book was a loser because it was not selling enough copies.

It is true that novels and some nonfiction books, especially cookbooks, surpass poetry and short story collections in sales, with a few notable exceptions. Billy Collins has made publishing his poetry into a small industry. A look at one of his TED talks illustrates why his work is popular. His poem “The Lanyard,” is a personal favorite.

That talk also illustrates why he has detractors among poets who view poetry as SERIOUS BUSINESS. He is noted for using humor and criticizing pretentious writing. He values “accessible poetry,” It is rumored that when he became Poet Laureate of the United States some poets went so far as to elect an “anti-laureate.”

His success illustrates a point about writing generally. For every Billy Collins, Stephen King, or Danielle Steele, hundreds support themselves with other jobs. The traditional measures of career success elude most writers.

I only included one poem about monetary success in my latest book. I debated including the poem “Money,” but the topic is inextricably linked to the human condition.

Money When it comes to money there is never enough. People with plenty say times are tough. For those without, times are tougher still. There’s no cash in the house to pay that bill. Adam Smith said we will always want more to buy new goods; keep the wolf from the door. The wolf is what we always perceive. Your wealth is determined by what you believe. I examine my bills and check my account, as I wish I had a larger amount.
​
Why I Write Poetry
I am no Billy Collins, but my poetry is sometimes called accessible. Writing a poem is much like solving a puzzle. I discover which words fit where, and why. I write in several forms and don’t believe one is superior to the others. Some forms have specific rhythms and rhyming patterns. Free verse also has a rhythm but is more like syncopated jazz while other forms might be compared to classical music.

I also write poetry as a means of communication. I express joy at the wonders of nature, chagrin at their mistreatment, and hope for a better future. I detour into matters of humanity and societal issues. Some listeners will agree, and some may disagree vehemently. I say listeners because my poetry is meant to be read out loud.

I appreciate poets who write for the page but I emphasize performance poetry and public readings. For me, putting a poem on the page is only the beginning. This belief is not new or revolutionary. Scholars tell us the Odyssey was recited for audiences before it was written. Some say the various sections were created separately and later became an epic poem with several sections.

I like that thought. It emphasizes the poet as the bard. Performance poets may be more closely aligned with songwriters, storytellers, and playwrights than novelists and nonfiction writers.

This essay began as a journal entry in response to “Credo,” Chapter 7 of Craft and Current by Janisse Ray. The chapter ended with an exercise and a writing prompt that inspired me, although this writing does not exactly adhere to her guidelines.
​This story first appeared in my Substack newsletter, https://substack.rayzimmerman.com.

Cranes at Hiwassee Refugee by Ray Zimmerman.
I once said that good writing is subject to the law of supply and demand and supply far outruns demand. That statement has come home to roost with my Substack readings.
My interests exceeded my reading time, so I was shocked when my email inbox held 45 messages primarily from Substack. I encountered one fine newsletter after another and subscribed. I knew I couldn’t sustain that workload and continue my creative endeavors, so I realized I must unsubscribe from a few newsletters.
Saying that is easier than achieving it. I read as many as I can and each one merits continued subscription. I open and read and find such wonderful prose and poetry, and I cannot let it go. Nevertheless, push has come to shove, and I will be unsubscribing from a few newsletters that are well worth reading.
Meanwhile, here are brief reviews of two poetry books.
On Phillips Creek Natalie Kimbell Finishing Line Press 2024 ISBN 979-8-8838-626-2Natalie Kimbell teaches English, Theater Arts, and Creative Writing. Her prose and poetry have appeared in several literary magazines.
Her book opens with the poem “River.” Titles are capitalized and “RIVER” begins with these lines: “I am a River of women’s stories / passing fluid, from mother to daughter- / distinct, like the sound of stones / skimming across pools of eternity.” The stories continue with “THE BOOK OF THE DEAD,” a name her granddaughter gave to the family picture album
The poet’s family and a homestead gone to a coal company are recurring themes in this inspired book of verse. Kimbell recalls visiting that homestead, bordered by Phillips Creek, a few weeks each year while growing up, so the passage of time is also a recurring theme. A painting of the homestead is reproduced on the book’s cover.
“MOURNING THE DEATH OF MY EX-HUSBAND’S SECOND WIFE” is a fine example of Kimbell’s wry sense of humor. I hear that she has another chapbook coming out soon.
Morning Window Bill Brown Iris Press ISBN 978-1-60454-501-2Bill Brown mentored many poets and taught Creative Writing at Nashville’s Hume/Fog academic high school. Brown received awards or fellowships from the Tennessee Writer’s Alliance, The Tennessee Arts Commission, and The National Endowment for Advancement of the Arts. Biographies appear online courtesy of Iris Press and Nashville Scene. Morning Windows has a page on the Iris Press website.
His poetry's recurring themes are family, rural life, and the natural world. The poem “Tracing Words” is exemplary of his work. “Could something announce // the importance of now and let / forever sit a while on the porch / proud of our neighbor’s new hay, / the buckskin’s flashy eyes?”
I reviewed Bill’s poetry textbook, Important Words in a previous edition of Crane’s Eye View. Chapter 16, a literary newsletter published in Nashville put a few of Bill’s poems online. “In Praise of Winter Trees,” was one of them. They also posted Love for Life: A Grateful Tribute to Bill Brown by writer Kim Green.
I have seen a list of his books somewhere, but here are links to a few I have read.
Late Winter
The News Inside
Elemental
The Cairns