Thinking of Ada Blackjack and how maybe those couple of years with the cat struggling to survive -- but not actively being exploited -- might have been her most peaceful. I guess I’ll have to read her diary to find out, thanks for the recommendation.
I love love loved LaGuin’s book, “The Word for World is Forest.” It’s such a brilliant allegory / indictment of hubris and greed, and the settler-colonist mindset.
I finished it the other night, and I loved how she makes the internal struggles, even at the subconscious level, so important to the story without eschewing plot. The Earthsea Trilogy is similar. I would read more about Selver, for sure. I think she owes the First Australians a little thanks for the dreamtime of the Athsheans, but I also I think James Cameron owes the world a free Ursula K Le Guin museum to apologize for the Avatar films.
Totally!! My copy included her own critique of the book’s strengths and shortcomings, which only enhanced my enjoyment and admiration. Have you read “Lathe of Heaven.” It’s a wonder.
"They are possibly the most dangerous-looking yet harmless members of the animal kingdom".
*****************
It's true they're not predatory or agressive. But growing up, there wasn't a kid in my neighborhood who avoided lacerated toes or feet while wading or swimming. Intentional or not - those spikes are SHARP!
Endurance and the Shackleton story is a touchstone for me. There is that apocryphal "want ad" image that has floated around the internet for years and years that I vowed to get tattooed on my forearm when I quit my stiff job and went all in as a writer. It reads, "Men Wanted for hazardous journey, small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful, honor and recognition in case of success." A perfect metaphor for the life I find myself in, 😂.
And the Safina book. I love that one, and the one before it, Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel. Both are excellent. I included a quote from Becoming Wild – "The world appears beautiful so that the living may love being alive in it.” – in one of my poems in my Descended book. I was listening to Becoming Wild on a drive around the state of Montana visiting all the Indian reservations during Covid; it was a long drive. I was literally passing a sign for a creek called "Beauty Creek" when he read those lines. I immediately pulled over and wrote the quote in my notebook. A wonderful line, delivered when I needed to hear it, in a particularly serendipitous location....
Yes, Safina is a fine writer. I will look up Beyond Words. I've shifted mostly to reading nonfiction and older fiction these days. Too much of the new stuff is written to be adapted to TV and it shows.
So much to read/watch from this one!
Thinking of Ada Blackjack and how maybe those couple of years with the cat struggling to survive -- but not actively being exploited -- might have been her most peaceful. I guess I’ll have to read her diary to find out, thanks for the recommendation.
If her son hadn't also died, I would be all for a movie about her life that benefited her family.
Thanks so much for the shout-out!
I love love loved LaGuin’s book, “The Word for World is Forest.” It’s such a brilliant allegory / indictment of hubris and greed, and the settler-colonist mindset.
I finished it the other night, and I loved how she makes the internal struggles, even at the subconscious level, so important to the story without eschewing plot. The Earthsea Trilogy is similar. I would read more about Selver, for sure. I think she owes the First Australians a little thanks for the dreamtime of the Athsheans, but I also I think James Cameron owes the world a free Ursula K Le Guin museum to apologize for the Avatar films.
Totally!! My copy included her own critique of the book’s strengths and shortcomings, which only enhanced my enjoyment and admiration. Have you read “Lathe of Heaven.” It’s a wonder.
The Lathe of Heaven was the first book of hers that I read, a very long time ago. I picked up a copy to read it again.
Same! I even sought out the old PBS-produced film version of it and rented that. It’s not nearly as good tho.
Oh, I forgot that existed!
"They are possibly the most dangerous-looking yet harmless members of the animal kingdom".
*****************
It's true they're not predatory or agressive. But growing up, there wasn't a kid in my neighborhood who avoided lacerated toes or feet while wading or swimming. Intentional or not - those spikes are SHARP!
What y'all doing stepping on the DEATH CRAB!?!!?!
They hide beneath the sand
Endurance and the Shackleton story is a touchstone for me. There is that apocryphal "want ad" image that has floated around the internet for years and years that I vowed to get tattooed on my forearm when I quit my stiff job and went all in as a writer. It reads, "Men Wanted for hazardous journey, small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful, honor and recognition in case of success." A perfect metaphor for the life I find myself in, 😂.
And the Safina book. I love that one, and the one before it, Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel. Both are excellent. I included a quote from Becoming Wild – "The world appears beautiful so that the living may love being alive in it.” – in one of my poems in my Descended book. I was listening to Becoming Wild on a drive around the state of Montana visiting all the Indian reservations during Covid; it was a long drive. I was literally passing a sign for a creek called "Beauty Creek" when he read those lines. I immediately pulled over and wrote the quote in my notebook. A wonderful line, delivered when I needed to hear it, in a particularly serendipitous location....
Yes, Safina is a fine writer. I will look up Beyond Words. I've shifted mostly to reading nonfiction and older fiction these days. Too much of the new stuff is written to be adapted to TV and it shows.
Exactly.