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Henry Berry

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Ho! For Wonderland: Travelers' Accounts of Yellowstone, 1872-1914

by Lee H. Whittlesey

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read in June 2009

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Henry Berry said: " Writings on Yellowstone Park are automatically nature writing. But the articles in this collection are not limited to this. From the first era of Yellowstone founded in 1872 (less than 10 years after the end of the Civil War), the articles also give Writings on Yellowstone Park are automatically nature writing. But the articles in this collection are not limited to this. From the first era of Yellowstone founded in 1872 (less than 10 years after the end of the Civil War), the articles also give historical views of Yellowstone and the society of the period and its outdoor, recreation activities. From its start, Yellowstone was a tourist draw. The title with its antiquated "Ho!" is taken from a term often used in broadsides and other ads of the time (a few of these shown in illustrations). Yet because transportation in the early part of this era was limited to trains and horse carts, the number of visitors was limited. Although it did have facilities including lodges, the Park was not nearly so developed as it became in decades following 1914 when automobiles started becoming the major means of transportation. Some of the writings describe features which are now gone and experiences that are no longer possible. And most of the writings describe features and experiences which have inevitably changed given the changes Yellowstone has undergone since its first decades.

The writings are collected from journals, letters, newspaper accounts, and other scattered writings of the period by a Park historian and guide, Whittlesey, working with the younger Watry who has written the book Women in Wonderland. The writings were selected to present such a picture of various sides of the Park as well as for their readability. Though some of the writers such as newsmen were professionals writing on assignment, most of the writers and even most of the newsmen were not literary people or highly polished writers. Though not crude or casual, the selections with their mostly plain styles and simpler communications and memories convey more directly the sights and experiences of Yellowstone than self-conscious nature writings; such as the writings of John Burrow's by contrast.

Through such varied plain though observant and literate writings of its first visitors, readers thus experience the delights, the curiosities, the newness of Yellowstone Park. The natural wonders such as the geysers, peaks, and forests are appreciatively described as well as the pleasures of hiking, fishing, and other activities. A couple of amusing anecdotes are persons washing their clothes in the hot springs and fisherman boiling their catches in them. Some of such anecdotes are found in the chapter notes making going through them as informative and fun as the text. ...more "

Jun 18, 2009 02:12PM · see review

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A Backward Glance: The Southern Renascence, the Autobiographical Epic, and the Classical Legacy

by Joseph R. Millichap

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Henry Berry said: " As in other fields of American letters, the Renascence in Southern writing was effected largely in terms of biographical writings. These were sometimes straightforward biographical writings such as essays or autobiographies. Usually though the writin As in other fields of American letters, the Renascence in Southern writing was effected largely in terms of biographical writings. These were sometimes straightforward biographical writings such as essays or autobiographies. Usually though the writings were novels of thinly-disguised autobiography, most notably Thomas Wolfe's novels. And biography which was the medium for the Southern Renascence often took the dimension of regional literature, notably with William Faulkner and Eudora Welty. Robert Penn Warren, Ralph Ellison, Allen Tate, and Caroline Gordon are other authors studied for their parts in the Renascence. While all have the stature of significant or major American authors, they are also known as Southern authors of a certain era. This was the era between the South in the few decades coming right after the Civil War and the modern-day South emerging in the years after World War II. The "backward glance" of the Southern Renascence was not essentially a nostalgic urge, but the way in which this generation of exceptionally talented Southern writers were trying to comprehend and come to terms with the historical and cultural currents at work throughout the South.

Millichap, an emeritus professor of English, starts off the literary critique with the thematic chapter "The Autobiographical Epic" exemplifying the mix of biography with classical form Wolfe, Faulkner, and the others struck upon and developed in their literary enterprise. No matter what forms favored by particular writers--e. g., poetry for Tate, short story for Welty--they all reflected autobiographical epic in varying degrees.

Millichap explains his unconventional use of the term "Renascence" instead of the familiar "Renaissance" for such an artistic enterprise of reinvigorating classical forms and ideas in a contemporary period by referring to Allen Tate's preference. Tate used this term in his 1945 essay The New Provincialism which gave Millichap a focus and theme for this book. "[T:]he Latin etymology...probably appealed to Tate, perhaps the most Classical among his contemporaries, more than its evolution by way of French to its more customary spelling...." Besides, the two spellings have been used "somewhat interchangeably" among scholars.

Each of the major Southern authors is then taken up individually as to how he or she fed into the literary movement of the Renascence. As with any historical or literary concept or movement, the Southern Renascence was sprawling and loosely defined. It is not simply hypothetical or imaginary though. Before ending, Millichap points to examples in popular culture of the genuineness and continuation of the sources of the Renascence in Southern culture. These are undeniable in the idiosyncratic movies Big Fish and O Brother, Where Art Thou. ...more "

Jun 18, 2009 02:07PM · see review

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Tamalpais Walking: Poetry, History, and Prints

by Tom Killion

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Henry Berry said: " The woodcut and letterpress artist Killion has a Japanese touch to his artwork. The modest graphic style and the coloring remind one of Japanese woodcuts, as does the nature subject matter. Killion's prints though concern Mount Tamalpais north of San The woodcut and letterpress artist Killion has a Japanese touch to his artwork. The modest graphic style and the coloring remind one of Japanese woodcuts, as does the nature subject matter. Killion's prints though concern Mount Tamalpais north of San Francisco. It's a nature area popular with hikers and campers and also arousing spiritual feelings. Gary Snyder's poetry goes along with Killion's prints concerning the Mount Tamalpais notable throughout the region for physical and spiritual reasons. Snyder's poems with haiku-like lines mirror physical aspects of nature and spirituality in connection to nature. Beyond his poetry, Snyder embraced an Asian, Zen-like spirituality and lived close to nature. He spent much time hiking about Tamalpais, and he spent time in Japan to experience Asian spirituality directly.

Besides the art work, Killian writes fetching essays for the book. Snyder contributes journal-like parts going back to the 1950s and '60s. But the two are not the only ones found. Quotes from the writings of Kenneth Rexroth, Jack Kerouac, Ina Coolbright and anecdotes on such authors representing the fusion of Asian spirituality and American openness of spirit and attraction to nature are interwoven into the text.

There are 14 full-page color woodcuts of Killion's including the frontispiece. Others are of varying sizes in full-color or shades of dark colors. Coming upon the woodcuts of all sizes throughout the pages, one is drawn to them again and again perusing their details of coastline, clouds, craggy earth, and slopes. One wants to notice Killion's technical skill and spots of originality in this art, and also enjoy again and again the aesthetic and spiritual freshets afforded by them. At the end are three pages of color woodcuts four to a page.

The book is a rare book published these days, or ever. Not falling neatly into a marketing or shelving category of the book trade, it is a risky publishing venture even considering the reputations of the artist and poet. Despite this, no effort or expense has been spared in design or production. Though it has aspects of each, Tamalpais Walking cannot be reduced to a nature book, an art book, or a book of spirituality. These aspects are joined ideally; and to some point brought together subliminally, although the book is founded in the particular place of Mount Tamalpais. Primarily it's a book of spiritual and artistic enjoyment. ...more "

Jun 15, 2009 02:26PM · see review

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