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Trees were central to Henry David Thoreau’s creativity as a writer, his work as a naturalist, his thought, and his inner life. His portraits of them were so perfect, it was as if he could see the sap flowing beneath their bark. When Thoreau wrote that the poet loves the pine tree as his own shadow in the air, he was speaking about himself. In short, he spoke their language.
In this original book, Richard Higgins explores Thoreau’s deep connections to trees: his keen perception of them, the joy they gave him, the poetry he saw in them, his philosophical view of them, and how they fed his soul. His lively essays show that trees were a thread connecting all parts of Thoreau’s being—heart, mind, and spirit. Included are one hundred excerpts from Thoreau’s writings about trees, paired with over sixty of the author’s photographs. Thoreau’s words are as vivid now as they were in 1890, when an English naturalist wrote that he was unusually able to “to preserve the flashing forest colors in unfading light.” Thoreau and the Language of Trees shows that Thoreau, with uncanny foresight, believed trees were essential to the preservation of the world.
In this original book, Richard Higgins explores Thoreau’s deep connections to trees: his keen perception of them, the joy they gave him, the poetry he saw in them, his philosophical view of them, and how they fed his soul. His lively essays show that trees were a thread connecting all parts of Thoreau’s being—heart, mind, and spirit. Included are one hundred excerpts from Thoreau’s writings about trees, paired with over sixty of the author’s photographs. Thoreau’s words are as vivid now as they were in 1890, when an English naturalist wrote that he was unusually able to “to preserve the flashing forest colors in unfading light.” Thoreau and the Language of Trees shows that Thoreau, with uncanny foresight, believed trees were essential to the preservation of the world.
Price: $24.95
Pages: 248
Publisher: University of California Press
Imprint: University of California Press
Publication Date:
April 4, 2017
Trim Size: 8.00 X 6.00 in
ISBN: 9780520294042
Format: Hardcover
"Writer and former Boston Globe reporter Richard Higgins culls a selection of Thoreau’s writings on trees from his voluminous journals. Higgins gathers a satisfying assemblage, one that showcases Thoreau’s deep reverence for the oaks and elms, pines and birches, rising into the sky in Concord. Short essays open each chapter, revealing Higgins to be a sensitive observer both of his environment and of Thoreau’s writing."
"Enchanting. . . . In lucid and elegant prose, Higgins traces Thoreau’s deep love affair with various arboreal species.”
"A book to savour lightly and slowly, just as the subject himself might have prescribed.”
"A selection of the great Transcendentalist poet and philosopher’s meditations on trees, drawn from his two-million-word journal by writer and photographer Richard Higgins, whose beautiful black-and-white photographs complement Thoreau’s arboreal writings. . . . Thoroughly elevating."
"Higgins’s introductory essays do a fine job contextualizing the writings and images in Concord town history and Thoreau biography. This is a handsome book that is sure to appeal to a wide audience."
Richard Higgins is a former longtime staff writer for the Boston Globe, the coauthor of Portfolio Life: The New Path to Work, Purpose, and Passion after 50, and the coeditor of Taking Faith Seriously. His writing has appeared in numerous publications, including the New York Times, Atlantic Monthly, Christian Century, and Smithsonian. He lives in Concord, Massachusetts.
Foreword by Robert D. Richardson
A Note on Sources
Introduction: Speaking the Language of Trees
1. AN EYE FOR TREES
Against the Sky a Tree Has Parts
2. A HEART FOR TREES
Heartwood
3. A POET’S TREES
Woodplay
4. A MIND FOR TREES
Forest Lessons
5. A SOUL FOR TREES
As High a Heaven
6. MY EMBLEM, THE PINE
Paeans to the Pine
7. KNIGHTING ELMS
Death of a Concord Kingpost
8 . A KINGDOM OF PRIMITIVE OAKS
Boxborough’s Ancient Oaks
9. TRANSFORMED BY SNOW
A World Made New
10. IN A BARQUE OF BARK
Sailing a Sea of Green
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
List of Thoreau Excerpts
Illustration Credits
Index
A Note on Sources
Introduction: Speaking the Language of Trees
1. AN EYE FOR TREES
Against the Sky a Tree Has Parts
2. A HEART FOR TREES
Heartwood
3. A POET’S TREES
Woodplay
4. A MIND FOR TREES
Forest Lessons
5. A SOUL FOR TREES
As High a Heaven
6. MY EMBLEM, THE PINE
Paeans to the Pine
7. KNIGHTING ELMS
Death of a Concord Kingpost
8 . A KINGDOM OF PRIMITIVE OAKS
Boxborough’s Ancient Oaks
9. TRANSFORMED BY SNOW
A World Made New
10. IN A BARQUE OF BARK
Sailing a Sea of Green
Acknowledgments
Notes
Bibliography
List of Thoreau Excerpts
Illustration Credits
Index