Old Growth: The best writing about trees from Orion magazine

by Christopher Cox (Editor), Robin Wall Kimmerer (Contributor)

Since its founding in 1982, Orion magazine has published thousands of essays and poems that bring readers closer to nature. This new collection traces a bright green thread through that archive (along with three standout new essays) by highlighting the most memorable writing the magazine has published about trees.

Genres: Nature, Nonfiction, Poetry, Essays, Environment, Science

Paperback

Published January 1, 2021

Reviews

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful essays and poems on ecology, trees and forests and our relationships with them. Best was learning of nature writers new to me.

[Kerri Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

An entire collection of short essays and poems centered on trees? Yes, please.

This book has deep roots and pieces of it were a much-needed balm to my reading heart this year.

Highly recommend for anyone who digs the sort of authors and writing Orion showcases, and/or for anyone looking for heartfelt stories about the inherent power and magic of trees.

[5 stars for poems existing alongside essays as if they've always belonged there, because in my book(s), they absolutely do.]

[Anu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Soulful anthology of writing about trees. As I close my eyes and think of all the vignettes the book evokes for me a month after I finished the book, things that stand out - the vivid imagery of “Sugaring” that’s written in celebration of the sugar maple, the adventure of finding the last ancient sequoias, the larch lifecycles - 300 years of youth, 300 years of prime and 300 years of graceful old age, trees that grow in fractal patterns, sprouting little tree patterns within trees (like the beloved succulent at my desk), the dichotomy of attempting to rescue white pines with relocation, the quiet fortitude of hemlocks, the incidental map making wild cherries, the magnificence of quaking aspens that constitute the world’s biggest living organism, the buckeye that bonds father and son…thank you Orion, for the lovely green moments from the book.
Alas, this green reverie had the most jarring beginning with the first essay where the author tries to find redemption for the meth head that burned down a 1500 year old elder tree. Overlooking this editing blunder of using this essay as the first in the anthology, I’d still want to give this as a holiday gift to the tree lovers in my life. Perhaps I’d tear out the first few pages to spare them the outrage!
The poems were fleeting for me, but the essays left a lasting impression (with Ursula Le Guin’s opener being the exception) The illustrations are simple and soothing.

[scherzo♫ · Rating 4 out of 5]

"How could our hearts be large enough for heaven if they are not large enough for Earth?"

-Buckeye by Scott Russell Sanders

[Root_rambler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought I was going to love this, but it sat on my table for months. I could hardly bring myself to read more than a few pages at a time. Is this really the best writing Orion had on trees? Now, for context I'm a landscape designer, certified arborist, and have read a large quantity of nature writing over the years. Most of the essays in here were old hat, sort of boring, ho-hum. Luckily, the second half of the book picked up a little bit. I loved the essay on cherries by Katrina Vandenberg, which was personal and fresh (she's also a creative writing professor and it shows), and Scott Russell Sanders' essay on buckeyes, which made me tear up, but I'm also from Ohio and his books have made me cry before. Emma Marris' essay on assisted migration was interesting- again, I know about the topic but it was a thought-provoking essay, hopefully especially so for those who are gung-ho on restoration and native plants and making places like they used to be. Instead of this book of essays, I'd recommend "Braiding Sweetgrass" and "Finding the Mother Tree."

[Joel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recently stumbled on Orion magazine so I was really excited to dive into this collection. A handful of them, like Scott Russell Sanders' essay on buckeyes, were just phenomenal, but this wasn't as good as I was hoping it would be. I bought a collection from them, so hopefully, the next work will be a little better.

[Corinne · Rating 4 out of 5]

"...but it never loses the thread of that original tune. Every tree is a jazz player, although where a long Coltrane piece might last a quarter hour, a tree's performance may go on for half a millennium or more.". p26

The first third of a tree's life is building up, then maintaining for a century or more, and the final stage growing down. "Growing down is not just decay. it is active and improvisational as the building up." p34

[Lynn Crisci · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book in a series for book club. This is a collection of stories and poems, touching on the many discussions related to trees. Are trees only valuable in their use to man? Do trees have rights? If trees are endangered, what is fair game to save them? Should trees be considered worthy of saving? Thoughtful and provoking, the choices work well to create a whole.

[Olivia Matz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked about half the stories in this book. Would maybe probably read again (maybe not all of them). Was annoyed and in disagreement with some of the language/perspectives/ opinions of various authors. There were two lines in two different passages that were good enough for me to underline and copy into my journal. And it was a quick read.

[Dan Carey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm usually pessimistic about the number of items in a collection that I will enjoy. Given the focus of this collection, I expected a higher-than-normal percentage of pieces to enjoy. Nonetheless, I was surprised at how much there was for me here in terms of both quality and quantity.

[Keygan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really lovely collection. The styles and topics of each piece are wildly different (some of which I absolutely loved, some of which I merely enjoyed), but the overarching theme made the whole anthology feel cohesive and enhanced my reading experience.

[Francisco Valdes · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the foreword says, this an arboretum of essays. Informative, passionate and lirical.
I'd reccomend it with my eyes closed.

[Katie Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must, for tree lovers.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gorgeous “arboretum” of essays and poetry themed around trees that begs to be savored. I hated it to end.

[pca · Rating 5 out of 5]

gorgeous words, I didn’t want it to end

[Kendall · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐

[Zoë · Rating 5 out of 5]

so good!!! all great essays by ppl who know what they're talking about and ALSO have thought a lot about it and ALSO have felt a lot about it

[Grayson Cooper · Rating 3 out of 5]

Poems and short stories of trees ranging in quality

[Stephanie Medford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice diverse collection of writing about trees, and I do very much love trees.

[Brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read alongside Spark Birds! Very useful writing for thinking more broadly about trees.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent anthology from Orion magazine, including thought-provoking pieces on methods of and theories about conservation of various species.

[Rachel Croce · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was lovely.

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

if you love trees and good writing, this is the anthology for you.

[Shirley Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn't sure about reading a book about trees. I was totally engaged in this small book of selected short stories about trees. There were three that I especially enjoyed and really touched my heart: Buckeye by Scott Russell Sanders; 2) The Orchard by Geronimo G. Tagatac; and 3) A Day of Discovery by Richard Preston. One of the best collections of short stories I think I have ever read.

[Janet Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding collection from Orion magazine, this collection of essays and poems on trees is fascinating and deeply moving.