Edward Abbey
In case you were wondering, the title for this blog is a phrase used in a particularly stirring manifesto by one of my favourite authors, Edward Abbey. His writing wasn't brilliant, nor did it really achieve much attention or acclaim. It was however, passionate, uncompromising and driven by Abbey's critical view of humanity, especially relating to our ever-dimishing respect for the natural world.
As for his books, probably one of my favourites, and one that has had at least a little to do with the formation of my current view of things, is Desert Solitaire. Here Abbey sketches out his experience as a backcounty park ranger in the southwest desert of 1950's America. Abbey dismantles the notion of 'romantic nature' that became popular just before the turn of the century, and demonstrates his own highly attuned and much more pragmatic view of the natural world. With a great deal of insight he clearly saw the direction the U.S. Park Service was headed in rationalizing public resources, and says as much in the forward to the book which reads like a darkly amusing eulogy for wilderness. This is a timeless book, one of the best I've ever read, and I recommend it to anyone with even a passing interest in the natural world.
Another favourite and probably his most notorious novel is The Monkey Wrench Gang. This is the book which may have been the fuse that ignited the radical side of the environmental movement. Set in the dramatic and harsh desert landscape of the southwest, it is a desparate and hilarious tale of four strangers who come together to fight a common enemy. I suspect EarthFirst! uses this book in the same way many other groups use Sun Tzu's classic book on strategy, the Art of War.
Abbey was also something of a poet, and published at least one book of poetry. Thanks to either this poetic dabling, or his propensity for witty philisophical rambling (which forms the basis for many of his essays) we have one of his most significant legacies: his quotes. Which makes me think of another iconoclast whose quotes are always amusing - Oscar Wilde. Despite their immense differneces, I'm sure these guys would have a lot to say to each other. Hmmmm...That would be a fun celebrity mash-up.
Do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am- a reluctant enthusiast...a part time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it’s still here. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, encounter the grizz, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for awhile and contemplate the precious stillness, that lovely mysterious and awesome place. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head attached to your body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much: I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those desk-bound people with their hearts in a safe-deposit box and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise this: You will outlive the bastards.
-Edward Abbey
As for his books, probably one of my favourites, and one that has had at least a little to do with the formation of my current view of things, is Desert Solitaire. Here Abbey sketches out his experience as a backcounty park ranger in the southwest desert of 1950's America. Abbey dismantles the notion of 'romantic nature' that became popular just before the turn of the century, and demonstrates his own highly attuned and much more pragmatic view of the natural world. With a great deal of insight he clearly saw the direction the U.S. Park Service was headed in rationalizing public resources, and says as much in the forward to the book which reads like a darkly amusing eulogy for wilderness. This is a timeless book, one of the best I've ever read, and I recommend it to anyone with even a passing interest in the natural world.
Another favourite and probably his most notorious novel is The Monkey Wrench Gang. This is the book which may have been the fuse that ignited the radical side of the environmental movement. Set in the dramatic and harsh desert landscape of the southwest, it is a desparate and hilarious tale of four strangers who come together to fight a common enemy. I suspect EarthFirst! uses this book in the same way many other groups use Sun Tzu's classic book on strategy, the Art of War.
Abbey was also something of a poet, and published at least one book of poetry. Thanks to either this poetic dabling, or his propensity for witty philisophical rambling (which forms the basis for many of his essays) we have one of his most significant legacies: his quotes. Which makes me think of another iconoclast whose quotes are always amusing - Oscar Wilde. Despite their immense differneces, I'm sure these guys would have a lot to say to each other. Hmmmm...That would be a fun celebrity mash-up.
posted by biophile at 4:41 p.m.
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