A Trail Through Leaves: The Journal as a Path to Place [Hardcover]

Hannah Hinchman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1997

An exquisitely illustrated guide to cultivating intimacy with the natural world through journal-keeping. From her home territory in Wyoming's Northern Rockies, artist-naturalist Hannah Hinchman leads us through fields and canyons, exploring the details of "a world of events" we usually overlook, and helping us to reclaim our senses through the creative disciplines of writing and drawing. "Start with a smell, like a crushed marigold leaf, the sea, coal smoke," she advises, and from such raw materials she teaches us to "decant the stuff of life" into journal form, where "it remains fresh, still tasting of its source." In her reflections on the journals of Thoreau, Hinchman shares his vision that science and the arts are both matters of attention, asking questions, taking nothing for granted. She shows too how in the pages of a journal a budding artist fashions a sense of self, lives more fully in the present, and discovers what in the world she wants to make her own; for ultimately "the act of recording a life, in healthy solitude and active connection to loved terrain, is also the act of creating a life." This is a rich, beautiful resource, full of ways to come alive to the world.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Artist and naturalist Hinchman, who has kept a journal since 1970, shares in this work her ideas about keeping a daily record of one's observations and experiences. Her advice, directed to "would-be naturalist/journal-keepers," focuses on the tangible details of the natural world, "moments of the ordinary-made-extraordinary by the simple act of choosing and isolating them." She emphasizes the value of adding drawings to a journal and includes many samples of her annotated sketches of plants, animals, and landscapes. Excerpts from her own writings are basically accounts of the minutiae of her surroundings in Wyoming's Northern Rockies. Although her excerpts lack real insight, her recommendations for observing the natural world more intensely are valuable. A potentially helpful purchase.?Ilse Heidmann, San Marcos, Tex.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

This is an important book, brilliantly produced. Its light will linger a long, long time. -- John R. Stilgoe, professor in the History of Landscape, Harvard University

[B]oth a rich work of performance art and a personal growth tool with many handles. -- Boston Globe --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1st edition (September 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393041018
• ISBN-13: 978-0393041019
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 8.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #835,921 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #47 in Books > Self-Help > Journal Writing

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful book--inspirational and instructional, November 15, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: A Trail Through Leaves: The Journal as a Path to Place (Hardcover)

For those of us attempting to cut through the clutter of busy urban life, this book is a beautiful reminder of how to use close, patient observation of what's around us to enhance our enjoyment of life. Hannah Hinchman even includes practical tips for equipping yourself with thetools of a field artist. After reading two chapters, I bought three pencils and a sketch pad and went to a local park to find something to draw. I hadn't seriously drawn anything in twenty some years, but her book reminded me of how important excursions into the woods had been whento me when I was young. A Trail Through Leaves made my eyes hungry to observe quirky insects and plants, and my hand itchy to draw again. The hardcover book is beautifully printed and laid out and feels good in your hands. It's not a "can't put it down" read--it's a book to dip into and go back to. For animal lovers, it should be noted that Hannah Hinchman's love for horses and cats is contagious; her respect for them and sense of wonder about her connection to them are commmunicated through her sketches and her writing.

52 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Somewhat dissapointing, December 31, 2001

By 

Kelly (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Trail Through Leaves: The Journal as a Path to Place (Paperback)

Having kept journals since I was a kid, I thought this book might help to renew my passion for the activity and inspire me to see new things. The premise of the book seemed perfect: the journal as a path to place. But be forewarned: this book is not a manual for how to explore the world around you or examine your life through journaling. It is a wordy autobiography of one woman and the techniques that work for her. The first chapter is nothing but an exhaustive summary of her own life and the journals she kept; the second rambles on and on about the differences in ball-point pens and small art brushes, all described through the experiences of the author: "I like the Bic much better than the heavy, pretentious Mont Blanc ballpoint pen that my friend found in the street. It's unbalanced, and the tip is stingy and stiff. But the Mont Blac fountain pen - there is a truely loveable tool."

Reading this book, I can't help but feel that it is a forged account of being true to oneself. Each illustration, supposedly taken from the author's journals, is picture-perfect and ready to be hung on the wall. Any written text that accompanies it is painstakingly neat and labored. There isn't a visual hint of imperfection anywhere, and it makes the book seem commercial and not very real.

This book does have several good points: it has some very good lessons on art technique and it does hold some very thought-provolking observations amidst the flowery language and self-absorbed babbling. But if you're like me and looking for a book to help you dive below the surface of perfectionistic drawings and whimsical, unobtrusive text, look elsewhere.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful introduction to visual diary-keeping, May 3, 2004

By 

economist "economist" (Berkeley, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Trail Through Leaves: The Journal as a Path to Place (Paperback)

In my 15 years of keeping a diary, I spent the first 10 keeping a conventional written record of thoughts, ideas, and occurances. But about 5 years ago my diary keeping received a pleasant and unexpected jolt when I encountered Hannah Hinchman's 'A Trail Through Leaves: The Journal as a Path to Place'. This beautifully written and illustrated book on keeping a visual diary completely enlarged my ideas of what a diary could be: a visual record as well as a meditation on the material universe.