Bates' poems express what it means to belong to the natural world, to attempt to be a "card-carrying" member rather than an intruder or merely a tourist. The intersection of science and spirit is where these poems reside, and while they offer depth and insight, they ask an equal number of questions.
This is Bates' first book of poetry, but it comes on the heels of 22 years of publishing seven non-fiction books of observations in Wisconsin's Northwoods. The book is divided into three sections: Water, Woods, and Home. In every one, a mindful appreciation lights the way, along with a heartful resonance to the communities of life that we all live within.
Autorentext
John Bates is the author of seven books and a contributor to seven others, all of which focus on the natural history of the Northwoods. He's worked as a naturalist in Wisconsin's Northwoods for 27 years, leading an array of trips all designed to help people further understand the remarkable diversity and beauty of nature, and our place within it. John won the 2006 Ellis/Henderson Outdoor Writing Award from the Council for Wisconsin Writers for his book Graced by the Seasons: Spring and Summer in the Northwoods. He has served on the Board of Trustees for the Wisconsin Nature Conservancy and the Wisconsin Humanities Council, and now serves on the Board of the River Alliance of Wisconsin, the Board of the Northwoods Land Trust, and the Board for the Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame. John and his wife Mary live on the Manitowish River in northern Wisconsin where they raised two daughters.
Inhalt
Water
Cold to the Bone
Dinosaurian Gumball Machines
Immigrations
Late April
Morning on the River
Pandemonium
Tangled
Bog Walking
Coming awake
Distraction Display
Ice
In the Black Muck
Looking
Muskrats
Pilgrimage
This Still Night
Ancient Water
Counting Frogs
Ebony Jewelwings
If You Listen
In the Labrador Tea
Meanders
Over the Bank
Woods
Wolf's Milk Slime
After the Storm
Winter Wren Sings
Alight
Wind in Pines
Burning Cold
When the Blue Jay Sings
Descents Ascents
Tree Math
Ephemerals
Trapping Bears
First Frost
To Walk in Radiance
First Snow
The Original Face
Ghosts
The Oldest Living Thing
The Mosses
How Old Is This Woods?
The Great Grays Sailed Out
How To Enter A Woods
Small Things
Meaning to Stay
Resilience
Ninety Degrees
Red Fox
No Reason
Opening Day
Home
Second Skin
When Mary Sits at Her Loom
Ripening
Wading
Opening the Door
Ally Ally in Free
Delicious
Dazzle
Her Finger to Her Lips
Stoking the Fire
Hot Chocolate
Stepping Across a Border
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