The Far Corner: Northwestern Views on Land, Life, and Literature

by John Daniel

"These essays include meditations and arguments on becoming a writer; on old-growth forest and the practice of clear-cutting; on the fluid dynamics and biotic diversity and mythic resonance of rivers; on the writers Ken Kesey and Wallace Stegner; on the literary genre of “creative nonfiction”; on death and dying and the consolations of mortality; on the al-Qaeda attacks of September 11, 2001; and on my allegiances to the places and region and country I call home." So writes John Daniel in the introduction to his latest book of essays, The Far Corner. Daniel writes from the ground he walks on and the landscape he inhabits, spinning narratives that seek to define how he belongs to the land and to life itself. He takes the reader to beaches, old-growth forests, and deep river canyons—wild places, and places scarred by human exploitation—and leads us also through inner landscapes where he explores mortality, creativity, and spirituality. This collection extends John Daniel’s earlier work in the personal essay form.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Environment, Essays

256 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2009

About the author

Born in South Carolina and raised in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., John Daniel has lived in the West since 1966. After attending and dropping out of Reed College in Portland, Oregon, he worked as a logger, railroad inspector, rock climbing instructor, hod carrier, and poet-in-the-schools. He began to write poetry and prose in the 1970s while living on a ranch in south-central Oregon. In 1982 he received a Wallace Stegner Fellowship in Poetry at Stanford University, where he then took an M.A. in English/Creative Writing and taught five years as a Jones Lecturer in Poetry and a lecturer in Freshman English. He now makes his living as a writer and itinerant teacher in workshops and writer-in-residence positions around the country. 

Reviews

[Bjorn Sorensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I met the author at the Oregon Book Awards, after he had won for this title. He was hilarious and warm in his acceptance speech, and I always buy at least one winning book while I'm there. The writing, itself, was better than anything I thought it would be - wise, accepting, visceral, warm and, ultimately, romantic. Quite romantic. I'll never forget one of the last essays, where he's rigged some rope contraption to carry himself up to check out the upper stories of a large tree, to enjoy the solitary, windy views, all while his wife sends him snacks and poetry up and down another rope contraption. What a way to spend some of one's last stages of life, or any stage of life. I loved the essays on the benefits of being a vagabond, and the benefits of staying in one place. I love how one person's attitude on life can lead you to widen your own views just a little bit, how valuable it is to realize one can be at peace with things. For fans of Rick Bass's "Fiber".

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book. I grew up in Baker City Oregon in a logging family where my brother at age 9 and me age 11 would spend the summer at the logging camp fishing, hiking and floating Desolation Creek outside of Dale Oregon near Ukiah when dad went to work. Many of the settings and situations similar to what I lived in the Elkhorn Mountains and Eagle Cap Wilderness are described in the Suite of Rivers. It was an ideal way to grow up in the outdoors with chainsaws, guns, fishing poles and heavy labor although I never shot a living thing and it tore my heart out a little bit even at that age to think of the loss of trees. I appreciated the journey of Daniel's train of thought as he stated environmental concerns and acknowledged the legitimate challenges of opposing points of view.

I went straight down to buy books buy Wallace Stegner and Ken Kesey (finally) after the chapters about the two authors.

My favorite rating is likely due to reminiscence and nostalgia. I enjoyed the book and the thoughtfulness which the author presented in each essay.

[Andy Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nice collection of essays about living in the nature of the Pacific Northwest. They have a wide chronological span from when the author was in his twenties to the present--about 30 years later. My favorites were his discussions of Ken Kesey and Wallace Stegner.

There were many "nature" essays and I would recommend reading them over a period of time(as they were written!) as opposed to reading all at once-anyway, a nice read!

[Cyndi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book up on a whim at a used book sale and have spent the last few months slowly reading the essays. Of course I don't agree with everything, but it is so beautifully written and gave me so much to consider. I look forward to more of his books.

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Essay collections are tricky. This is not a bad one, exactly, but 45 pages in, I just can’t work up any enthusiasm for continuing, even though I love reading about the Pacific Northwest. The tone is way too writer’s program / workshop. Every paragraph, every sentence, has clearly been worked over to within an inch of its life, to achieve a result that is lyrical but not too lyrical, philosophical but not too philosophical, personal but still general – you know the drill, particularly if you have read enough so-so nature writing, which typically tries to steer between all those obstacles. As is often the case, what you wind up with is something mildly worthy, but just not terribly exciting.

[Francis Kilkenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘The Far Corner’ by John Daniel is a collection of essays that are mostly about the landscape of the Pacific Northwest and our relationship to it. Several essays are also about other things, like writing and dying. Throughout the language is poetic and the insights are fresh. In reading these essays, one gets a deep feel for this region of the country. I grew up in and have spent much of life in this region and I resonated with the work. Essay collections are not for everyone, but I really liked this one and believe that it is well worth a read.

[Felicity Fields · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thought-provoking read about one of my favorite places: Oregon. Definitely pro-environmentalism, but not preachy. This is the first time I've read the author, and I liked how the essays wandered throughout his life's story.