by Katherine Isbell
The World Wide Web has certainly become an
indispensable part of my life. I rely regularly on my online
connection to conduct research, check my bank and credit card
statements, shop, make travel arrangements, communicate, and even
play games. And since I live and teach in a fairly isolated
community in Japan, the Web has become an important tool for
locating primary source material. Sometimes, however, it is
difficult to find exactly what I want or need. A recent search
for primary sources of environmental literature threatened to
turn ugly as my search results yielded page after page of linked
lists to other pages of linked lists. Even worse were the
innumerable links to every online bookseller imaginable.
Eventually, by using a variety of search engines and directories
and following those lists of lists, I arrived at a few good sites
for primary source material. I hope these sites will be of some
use to you as well.
Environmental literature refers to literary works, frequently
nonfiction, that explore relationships between humans and the
natural world. Much of this writing describes the feelings of
kinship with nature that authors experience while in their
natural surroundings. Environmental writing, or nature writing,
can be found in many languages all over the world. However, since
one of the best known environmental writers, Henry David Thoreau,
lived in the United States, the tradition of writing about nature
is often considered to be primarily a North American phenomenon.
As might be expected, the website of the Thoreau Institute is an
excellent starting point. Much of Thoreau's writing, including
the classic, can be found linked to the official Thoreau homepage
maintained by this organization. The rich abundance of
biographical material makes this a site that can be used by
students of all ages. Often my students find it difficult to put
historical events and activities into context so I particularly
liked the Thoreau Chronology, linked from the Thoreau Society
page, which provides a year-by-year view of what Thoreau was
doing as well as what was taking place in the U.S, in the world,
and in literature.
Another well-known figure in environmental writing is John Muir,
founder of the Sierra Club. Appropriately enough, his writings on
nature can be found at the Sierra Club's website. In addition to
the numerous books and articles that Muir authored, viewers can
find biographical information; articles, both past and present,
written about Muir; songs, films, videos, even art inspired by
Muir; and just about anything else that is somehow related to
John Muir. An added bonus is that it is easy to navigate and
locate information at this site.
Of the few contemporary nature writers whose works are available
on the Web, Robert Winkler, a nature writer living in
Connecticut, is probably my favorite. His collection of essays,
primarily on his encounters with nature while birding, is
informative, interesting, and fun to read. His writings emphasize
that nature is all around us and we don't have to go to exotic
locales to understand our connection with the natural world.
Additionally, each essay is lovingly illustrated. Winkler uses
his own photographs, drawings from 19th century naturalists, and
even images of Chinese scrolls to bring even more appeal to his
essays.
An excellent site for educators interested in scholarship related
to environmental literature is that of The Association of the
Study of Literature and Environment (ASLE). An affiliate of the
Modern Language Association, ASLE is dedicated to the promotion
of ideas and information about literature that considers human
relationships with the natural world. The electronic archives
page has links to many publicly available texts, including those
of Isabella Bird, Mary Austin and Walt Whitman. Of particular
interest to educators who are designing a unit or course of study
in environmental literature, the site has links to over 150
course syllabi and other teaching resources as well as related
readings and bibliographies.
Please remember that much of the primary source material on the
Web is copyrighted. If you plan to print and copy for use in your
classes, you must seek permission first. Let me know if you find
any of these sites helpful and feel free to send me the URLs of
sites you like.
Katharine Isbell is Assistant Professor of
English at Miyazaki International College in Miyazaki, Japan.