Essays on Nature and Landscape PDF
Preview Essays on Nature and Landscape
Essays on Nature and Landscape Susan Fenimore Cooper Edited by Rochelle Johnson and Daniel Patterson Foreword by John Elder EssaysonNatureandLandscape this page intentionally left blank S F C Essays on Nature and Landscape Edited by R J and D P ForewordbyJohnElder T U G P AthensandLondon ©bytheUniversityofGeorgiaPress Athens,Georgia Allrightsreserved DesignedbyAngieSanders SetinFournierbyBookcomp,Inc. PrintedandboundbyThomson-Shore,Inc. Thepaperinthisbookmeetstheguidelinesfor permanenceanddurabilityoftheCommitteeon ProductionGuidelinesforBookLongevityofthe CouncilonLibraryResources. PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData Cooper,SusanFenimore,–. Essaysonnatureandlandscape/SusanFenimoreCooper; editedbyRochelleJohnsonandDanielPatterson. p.cm. Includesbibliographicalreferences(p. ). ---(hardcover:alk.paper)—---(pbk.:alk.paper) .Naturalhistory..Countrylife.I.Johnson,Rochelle.II.Patterson,J.Daniel.III.Title. . —dc BritishLibraryCataloging-in-PublicationDataavailable Contents ForewordbyJohnElder vii Acknowledgments xi Introduction xiii EditorialPrinciples xxxiii ADissolvingView IntroductiontoJohnLeonardKnapp’s CountryRamblesinEngland;or, Journalof aNaturalist IntroductiontoTheRhymeandReasonofCountryLife: Or,SelectionsfromFieldsOldandNew PrefacetotheeditionofRuralHours LaterHours VillageImprovementSocieties OtsegoLeavesI:BirdsThenandNow OtsegoLeavesII:TheBirdMediæval OtsegoLeavesIII:TheBirdPrimeval ALamentfortheBirds Emendations TextualNotes ExplanatoryNotes Index v this page intentionally left blank Foreword Aoftherecentscholarshipinenvironmen- talliteraturehasbeenrediscoveringneglectedauthorswhostillhave muchtocontributetotheconversationofnatureandculture.There- newed attention to Susan Fenimore Cooper’s writing has been one ofthemostdramaticcasesinpoint.Notonlyhasshebecomewidely recognizedasapioneerpractitionerofAmericannaturewriting,but herapproachalsofeelsremarkablypertinenttoourconcernstoday. AsCooperreflectsuponboththenaturalhistoryandthehumando- ings of her rural community, she adopts what might now be called abioregionalperspective.Shealsoanticipatesthecurrentstruggleto connectconversationmoredirectlywiththecreationofajustandsus- tainablesociety. Cooper’smostcelebratedwork,RuralHours,wasreissuednumer- oustimesfollowingitspublicationin.ButuntilRochelleJohnson andDanielPatterson’sedition,thelastunabridgedprintinghad been in . Making the original text available was essential to the reevaluationofCooper’swriting.Alongwiththeeffortsofagrowing groupofCooperscholars,ithelpedestablishRuralHours asabook thatlinksGilbertWhiteandtheEnglishnaturalisttraditionwiththe workofThoreau—aswellasbeinganimportantinfluenceonWalden initsownright. Rediscovering an author (like charting the literature of nature as a whole) is a concentric, not a linear, process; it advances through widening circles of association and awareness. The present collec- tion of Cooper’s nature essays both enriches the historical context withinwhichwecanencounterRuralHoursandenhancesoursenseof hersurprisingcurrency.Twoofthemoststrikingthemesthatemerge here,inbothregards,arethoseofinheritanceandAmericanidentity. Itisperhapsnotsurprisingthatinheritanceshouldbeonthemindof vii viii Foreword anauthorwhosefatherandliteraryadvisorwasthemostcelebrated Americanwriteroftheday.Thefactthatthehamletshechronicledin RuralHourswasnamedCooperstownfurtherstrengthenedheraware- nessofbeingtheinheritorofanimportantlegacy,andheradoption of her father’s middle name in adulthood reflected a determination to carry it on. Cooper’s appreciation for both her town and her na- tionalculturewerealsoheightenedbythefactthatshewaseducated inEuropefromtheageofthirteen.Sheonlyreturnedtoherancestral villageandbeganhercareerasawriterwhenshewastwenty.Ineffect, shewrotebothasanativeand,likehersuccessorsinAmericannature writingJohnMuirandMaryAustin,asonewhodiscoveredandfellin lovewithherchosenplaceonEarthasanadult.Shespenttherestof herlifemakingitfullyherown. OneofmanyengagingpiecesinthepresentcollectionisCooper’s introductiontotheAmericaneditionofKnapp’sJournalofaNat- uralist.IndiscussingthisworkasanoffspringofWhite’sNaturalHis- toryofSelborne,andinimplicitlyconnectingherselftothesameline, sheaffirmsatransatlantictraditionthatrunsthroughherownbook, andthatcontinuesonthroughWaldenintotheflourishingnaturewrit- ingofourday.Butshealsoemphasizestheneedforsuchliteratureto becomefullynaturalizedinitsnewcontinent.Inparticular,Cooper observesinherintroductionthat,becauseAmericans’ideasofnature inhertimehavesooftenbeenformedbyreadingEnglishliterature, theyfrequentlyconfuseEnglishspecieswiththebirdsandanimalsof NorthAmerica.Asawayofescapingfromthis“dream-likephantas- magoria,”shesuggeststhat“Wemayall,ifwechoose,openoureyes tothebeautifulandwonderfulrealitiesoftheworldwelivein.Why shouldweanylongerwalkblindfoldthroughthefields?”Suchacall for vividly seeing what is actually around us both connects Cooper withtheemphasisonvisionbyourcontemporaryAnnieDillardand anticipatesthewayinwhichBarryLopezseesaninformedsensitivity to our own home landscapes as the beginning of a truly “American geography.” Foreword ix Cooper’sdedicationtoalocalizednaturalhistoryalsocontributes toherwriting’snotablycivicemphasis.Itiscleartoher,asametic- ulousobserver,thatcertainhumanpracticeshavetheeffectofeither enhancing or undermining the vitality of the community. In paying attention to the bird species that return to her Cooperstown home eachyear,shenoteswithalarmthedecliningnumbersofsuchcom- mon species as “robins, wrens, cat-birds, and humming-birds” and becomesfearfulforthelargerhealthofherregion.“BirdsThenand Now”(includedhereinaclusterofessayscalled“OtsegoLeaves”) conveysanelegiac,politicallychargedvoicestrikinglysimilartomuch contemporarynaturewriting.AsCooperreportsupontheremarkable diminishmentinthenumbersofbothsummerandwinterbirdsovera periodoftwentyyearsandspeculatesaboutthepossiblecausesofsuch afallingoff,heranalysisisremarkablyprescient.Shecallsattentionto thedevastatingeffectsofunrestricted,year-roundhunting.Shedraws aconnectionbetweendecliningbirdpopulationsinupstateNewYork andhumandepredationsinthosespecies’southernmigratoryrange. And she becomes an early, eloquent voice decrying the use of bird wingsindecoratingwomen’shats.Thislastcriticismcontributedsig- nificantlytoacrusadethat,inthefollowingdecades,ledbothtothe protectionofAmerica’snativebirdsandtotheformationofimportant advocacygroups. A spirit of conservation that grows out of lifelong dedication to one’sownplaceonEarth,butalwaysrelatesthatcommunitytobroad- ercirclesofcultureandtothewidermigrationsoflocalwildlife,offers avaluablemodelforustoday.Inourliteratureandourenvironmental activismalike,wearenowcalledupontofindsuchaninclusivevision, onethatincorporateswildernesspreservation,sustainability,andso- cial inclusiveness. Because of her own attentive and comprehensive approachasawriter,SusanFenimoreCoopermaybecomeasimpor- tanttoourfuturethinkingaboutliteratureandnatureasshehasbeen influentialuponitinthepast. JE
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