Dowsing and Science: Essays

by J.D. Smith

The essays in Dowsing and Science touch points on the map, including Texarkana, Chicago, and Ocean City, Maryland, with stops in Latin America and Aurora, Illinois. The collection’s mental range extends even farther, questioning the use of common phrases such as “the real world,” suggesting how Romanian history stands in for the human condition at large, and making a case for the survival value of esthetics. While several selections represent variations on the short memoirs known as the personal essay, most are examples of the “impersonal essay,” meditating on and engaging with a world larger than any writer’s psyche.

196 pages, Hardcover

First published March 28, 2011

About the author

My first fiction collection, Transit, will be published in December 2022. The preorder page if https://www.unsolicitedpress.com/stor....

My other books include six poetry collections, most recently the light verse collection Catalogs for Food Lovers and the essay collection Dowsing and Science. My individual poems, as well as humorous and crime stories, have appeared in several anthologies.

I live with my wife and rescue animals in Washington, DC, and I am available for lectures, readings and signings.

Reviews

[J.D. Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the author of this book I am more than a little biased, but I don't think you will find another book that covers the same range of subjects, styles and tones. One of the book's four sections is memoir, but the other three encompass cultural criticism, social commentary and esthetics.

The essays in the collection also vary in length and structure, which makes Dowsing and Science a useful and reasonably priced choice for classroom use.