Sharp Eyes: John Burroughs and American Nature Writing [Paperback]

Charlotte Zoe Walker (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2000

SHARP EYES: JOHN BURROUGHS AND AMERICAN NATURE WRITING is the first full collection of essays and scholarship about John Burroughs, who was one of America's greatest and most influential nature writers of the 19th and early 20th century. Long overdue, this book marks a resurgence of interest in Burroughs, who was an immensely popular figure in his own time, a friend of such disparate well known figures as Walt Whitman, John Muir, Henry Ford, and Theodore Roosevelt. SHARP EYES includes essays on Burroughs's influence on the nature essay itself, his relationships, literary or personal, with his contemporaries (Whitman, Emerson, Thoreau, Muir), his engagement with issues such as conservation, science, and religion, and his influence on nature education. Readers of this collection will find a companion volume in THE ART OF SEEING THINGS, a collection of essays by Burroughs which includes many of the essays discussed by scholars in SHARP EYES.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

John Burroughs, nature writer and educator, sought to teach Americans to see nature truly and accurately in order to understand the world around them and their relationship to it. This diverse collection of 24 essays, edited by Walker (English and women!s studies, SUNY at Oneonta), stems from a 1994 conference. Surveying Burroughs!s immense influence, contributors include Frank Bergon, who discusses The Environmentalism of John Burroughs ; Justine Askins, who ponders Burroughs!s life and writings today; environmental writer Bill McKibben; illustrator Libby Walker Davidson; and Elizabeth Burroughs Kelley, whose work has been greatly responsible for the revival of interest in her grandfather. The provocative essays attest to the continuing influence of the man who sought to teach us to see with sharp eyes. Recommended for academic libraries and public libraries with environmental collections."Patricia Ann Owens, Wabash Valley Coll., Mt. Carmel, IL
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Charlotte Zoe Walker is a Professor of English at the State University of New York, College at Oneonta, where she teaches courses in nature and literature. She is also a fiction writer whose work is often inspired by the natural world. Her novel, CONDOR AND HUMMINGBIRD, was published under her former name, Charlotte Mendez, and her published stories include an O. Henry Award winner and an honorable mention in Best American Short Stories. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 313 pages
• Publisher: Syracuse Univ Pr (Sd) (July 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0815606370
• ISBN-13: 978-0815606376
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,944,526 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Burroughs anthology at last, and a superb one!, February 23, 2001

By 

Edward Kanze (Bloomingdale, NY, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sharp Eyes: John Burroughs and American Nature Writing (Paperback)

Charlotte Walker, a professor of English at the State University of New York at Oneonta, has assembled the first anthology of critical essays on the naturalist, literary critic, poet, and philosopher John Burroughs (1837-1921). This is an extraordinary collection. Walker includes a wide array of voices, many of them (including my own) from outside academia. All have important things to say about Burroughs, who once towered above the American literary landscape but whose reputation has been eroded by time. A renewal of interest in the work of the Catskill-born Burroughs is underway, and this book is both a product of that movement and a light to lead the way. As the author of a concise biography and appreciation of John Burroughs ("The World of John Burroughs," published by Sierra Club Books), I congratulate Walker on a job brilliantly done.