I’ll admit that I’m not a nature girl. Okay, I love flowers and birds, and I’m a staunch animal advocate. But I see no earthly reason to hike in the woods, where there may be bears. Swim in a creek? Hard pass. And you’d have to pay me a fortune to go camping (or even glamping).
Still, I appreciate the natural world, especially if I can stay inside and read about it in the graceful words of classic women writers.
It first occured to me that this is a a good theme for a newsletter when my fellow Hudson Valley writer Nina Shengold came out with her lovely book, Reservoir Year: A Walker’s Book of Days. It’s a rich theme to explore in the context of nature-appreciating literary foremothers.
Join me as we embark on this exploration of the great outdoors. I’ll be watching from the window …
Beyond Beauty: The Natural World of Anne of Green Gables
Note from Nava: This essay on the natural world of the imaginative Anne of Green Gables, contributed by Jill Fuller, has long been one of my personal favorites.
I always return to Green Gables when the summer leaves have broken out of their cocoons; when warm evening breezes stir the wildflowers along the roadside; when long purple sunsets sweep through the sky.
I could never go there in winter’s dark days. Like summer’s lush and golden afternoons, Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery breathes light and freedom, warmth and adventure, wrapped in the exquisite detail of the simple beauty of Prince Edward Island.
Looking out across Green Gables’ fields on a June morning, Anne is brought to her knees by the sheer beauty of her surroundings, her “beauty-loving eyes” lingering on the scene before her, “taking it greedily in.”
… In Anne’s world, Nature is not merely a backdrop to the story. It is another character in the novel, an active participant in Anne’s imagination and wanderings, with names — the Dryad’s Bubble, the Snow Queen — and associations born from Anne’s active mind and explorations.
Read the rest here.
Preserving Nature: Emily Dickinson’s Herbarium
Note from Nava: This article was contributed by one of my interns, Jess Mendes, when she was attending the university in the town where I live.
Emily Dickinson’s herbarium serves as a time capsule into the poet’s mysterious life. It reflects her poetic connection to nature, and her sensitivity to life and mortality, echoing the enigmatic nature of the poet herself.
Emily lived a quiet life in her hometown of Amherst, Massachusetts, where she was born in 1830. She was a gardener before she was a poet, having studied botany beginning at the age of nine. She also enjoyed working alongside her mother in the garden.
Collecting and pressing flowers was a common hobby for young girls of her time. Emily began her assemblage of flowers while attending Amherst Academy in 1844, and took her passion to new levels, often including pressed flowers in letters she sent.
At age fourteen, Emily began a collection of over four hundred specimens of dried flowers. Neatly pressed onto sixty-six pages in a leather-bound album, she meticulously and delicately arranged and positioned them, almost as if to appear that they were still alive.
Read the rest and see more sample pages from Emily Dickinson’s herbarium here.
Poems by Anne Spencer on Nature, Love & Life
Anne Spencer was a poet, teacher, librarian, gardener, and civil rights activist. A prominent figure in the Harlem Renaissance, her poems express an affinity for nature, love, and life itself.
This talented poet and gardener was also an outspoken advocate for women’s and civil rights. An in-depth history and overview of Anne Spencer’s poetry from The University of Minnesota begins:
“Although it has been over a hundred years since Anne Spencer put her first thoughts onto paper, one may delight in the timelessness her lines evoke. Her poem ‘God never planted a garden”’ is a good example of metaphoric inter-change of her garden and her poetic participation, as well as her ageless energy through words.”
Enjoy this sampling of 10 poems by Anne Spencer, reprinted by permission of the Anne Spencer House & Garden, ©Anne Spencer Memorial Foundation.
A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter
A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter was the author’s third novel, published in 1909. Like many of her other books, it’s a story for “children of all ages.”
Gene was enchanted by the great outdoors from an early age. Her love of nature served as the foundation for her career as a naturalist, photographer, and writer.
In the course of her early explorations, Gene came upon the Limberlost Swamp near her home in rural Indiana. There she discovered birds, butterflies, and wildflowers that captured her imagination.
Though she did eventually marry and have a daughter, Gene disdained the domestic life that was expected of young women of her time. She was determined to enjoy a life of creativity and exploration as a way of expressing her love for the natural world.
Read more about Gene Stratton-Porter’s best-known work (along with Freckles), A Girl of the Limberlost.
Books by Rachel Carson, Before and After Silent Spring
The gracefully written books by noted marine biologist and conservationist Rachel Carson gifted readers with an appreciation of the interconnectedness of life on this planet. Her research and writings shaped the modern environmental movement.
Rachel’s eloquent nonfiction conveyed the intersection of every living entity with the broader web of life. Though considered as much a scientist and environmentalist as a writer, there’s no question that Rachel’s passion for literature fueled her writings.
Silent Spring (1962) was her best known work, boldly spreading awareness of the harmful use of pesticides. She also wrote three volumes about the oceans, which became known as the “Sea Trilogy” and The Sense of Wonder, a book that encouraged families to discover and appreciate nature together.
In order of publication, here are books by Rachel Carson; all still relevant and even more urgent than ever.
Courtesy of my friend Bob Eckstein, with whom I’m producing a book (I’m the writer and he’s the illustrator) on the role that cats have played in the lives of writers. To be published in September, 2025. Meanwhile, you can subscribe to his Substack, The Bob, for humor, wisdom about the writing life, and lots more.
A Quick Nod to Beatrix Potter
This missive is almost at its length limit, but it wouldn’t be complete without a huge nod to Beatrix Potter. Her lifelong love of flora and fauna is evident in her many books for children, starting with The Tale of Peter Rabbit. She parlayed her business savvy into a groundbreaking publishing empire, and used the fortune she earned to preserve vasts tracts of land in northern England. Read about her remarkable life here.
I choose the bear.