This Week in Reading The Abundance by Annie Dillard Very few people write about nature well, and Annie Dillard is one of them. Nature offers a richness of detail that is impossible to even approach. To try to represent not only the shape of a leaf but also its perfect buttery shade of green, its thinnest edge, the way the light filters through its milky, translucent surface, the minute tremble as we approach it, the scent of new growth-- where does one begin? And that is just one leaf— what about the tree it is on, the soil beneath the tree, the insects that make themselves at home in that soil, the dampness of the air? Overwhelmed by the incredible detail of nature, we fall back on romantic platitudes. We speak of beauty and peace as if those concepts can even begin to encompass the infinite specificity before us.
please consume me
please consume me
please consume me
This Week in Reading The Abundance by Annie Dillard Very few people write about nature well, and Annie Dillard is one of them. Nature offers a richness of detail that is impossible to even approach. To try to represent not only the shape of a leaf but also its perfect buttery shade of green, its thinnest edge, the way the light filters through its milky, translucent surface, the minute tremble as we approach it, the scent of new growth-- where does one begin? And that is just one leaf— what about the tree it is on, the soil beneath the tree, the insects that make themselves at home in that soil, the dampness of the air? Overwhelmed by the incredible detail of nature, we fall back on romantic platitudes. We speak of beauty and peace as if those concepts can even begin to encompass the infinite specificity before us.