In his article, David Gessner talks about how he thinks nature literature needs to change. He wrote his own pieces about being over nature, but has realized that it is not that simple. Gessner states that he is now ready to fight for nature, but we cannot continue talking about it in "hushed tones" or as if it is something religious. We have to be willing to be loud and be ready for the fight to get messy. Even thought Gessner had grown tired of how nature was talked about, he still believed that it was an important part of literature. This is interesting because it is such a huge part of his article.
Just because a topic seems outdated or overdone does not mean that it is not important. Every generation looks at problems differently and have different ideas on how to handle them. We are also always coming up with new technology and learning new facts, so can any topic really become outdated? Is the fight for nature old news because of how many people have talked about it, or is it time to look at it differently the way David Gessner states? How should we be looking at nature if not as something religious?
Nature has always been a part of our world, and arguably an amazing part, but it can also be terrifying and annoying at times. Perhaps it is time for nature writers to embrace this. What do you think? Should nature writing be bolder, or does it need to retain a sense of being mystical?
I don't think the fight for nature is old news, even if people have talked about it to death. The fact is, it's still incredibly relevant (if not even more so) today than it has ever been. I think that Gessner makes some good points in that we need to stop looking at nature with rose-tinted glasses. His notion of facing head-on the messiness and chaos of life in nature writing is interesting. I feel like if we wrote in that way, we would be able to better remind people of the important issues that face us today in regards to nature. Perhaps if we marry nature with true-to-life experience (as opposed to endless meditation and poetic language) we can shed a new light on our place in the natural world.
ReplyDeleteI believe irrelevant topics for sure can become outdated, but I believe for a topic such as nature, it is impossible. Nature, just as literature, is ever changing and evolving. I understand where Gessner is coming from but I still disagree with him slightly. I believe nature is powerful enough that it should be respected to a point of reverence. However, I do agree that nature should be talked about boldly. We need to be the voice for nature. This is just what I think.
ReplyDelete