Essays on Nature and Landscape

166 Pages·2002·0.47 MB·English

by  Susan Fenimore Cooper

Essays on Nature
and Landscape
Susan Fenimore Cooper
Edited by Rochelle Johnson and Daniel Patterson
Foreword by John Elder
EssaysonNatureandLandscape
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  
S F C
Essays on
Nature and Landscape
 
Edited by R J
 
and D P
ForewordbyJohnElder
T U  G P
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Cooper,SusanFenimore,–.
Essaysonnatureandlandscape/SusanFenimoreCooper;
editedbyRochelleJohnsonandDanielPatterson.
p.cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferences(p. ).
---(hardcover:alk.paper)—---(pbk.:alk.paper)
.Naturalhistory..Countrylife.I.Johnson,Rochelle.II.Patterson,J.Daniel.III.Title.
.
—dc 
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Contents
ForewordbyJohnElder vii
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction xiii
EditorialPrinciples xxxiii
ADissolvingView 
IntroductiontoJohnLeonardKnapp’s
CountryRamblesinEngland;or,
Journalof aNaturalist 
IntroductiontoTheRhymeandReasonofCountryLife:
Or,SelectionsfromFieldsOldandNew 
PrefacetotheeditionofRuralHours 
LaterHours 
VillageImprovementSocieties 
OtsegoLeavesI:BirdsThenandNow 
OtsegoLeavesII:TheBirdMediæval 
OtsegoLeavesIII:TheBirdPrimeval 
ALamentfortheBirds 
Emendations 
TextualNotes 
ExplanatoryNotes 
Index 
v
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Foreword
Aoftherecentscholarshipinenvironmen-
talliteraturehasbeenrediscoveringneglectedauthorswhostillhave
muchtocontributetotheconversationofnatureandculture.There-
newed attention to Susan Fenimore Cooper’s writing has been one
ofthemostdramaticcasesinpoint.Notonlyhasshebecomewidely
recognizedasapioneerpractitionerofAmericannaturewriting,but
herapproachalsofeelsremarkablypertinenttoourconcernstoday.
AsCooperreflectsuponboththenaturalhistoryandthehumando-
ings of her rural community, she adopts what might now be called
abioregionalperspective.Shealsoanticipatesthecurrentstruggleto
connectconversationmoredirectlywiththecreationofajustandsus-
tainablesociety.
Cooper’smostcelebratedwork,RuralHours,wasreissuednumer-
oustimesfollowingitspublicationin.ButuntilRochelleJohnson
andDanielPatterson’sedition,thelastunabridgedprintinghad
been in . Making the original text available was essential to the
reevaluationofCooper’swriting.Alongwiththeeffortsofagrowing
groupofCooperscholars,ithelpedestablishRuralHours asabook
thatlinksGilbertWhiteandtheEnglishnaturalisttraditionwiththe
workofThoreau—aswellasbeinganimportantinfluenceonWalden
initsownright.
Rediscovering an author (like charting the literature of nature as
a whole) is a concentric, not a linear, process; it advances through
widening circles of association and awareness. The present collec-
tion of Cooper’s nature essays both enriches the historical context
withinwhichwecanencounterRuralHoursandenhancesoursenseof
hersurprisingcurrency.Twoofthemoststrikingthemesthatemerge
here,inbothregards,arethoseofinheritanceandAmericanidentity.
Itisperhapsnotsurprisingthatinheritanceshouldbeonthemindof
vii
viii Foreword
anauthorwhosefatherandliteraryadvisorwasthemostcelebrated
Americanwriteroftheday.Thefactthatthehamletshechronicledin
RuralHourswasnamedCooperstownfurtherstrengthenedheraware-
nessofbeingtheinheritorofanimportantlegacy,andheradoption
of her father’s middle name in adulthood reflected a determination
to carry it on. Cooper’s appreciation for both her town and her na-
tionalculturewerealsoheightenedbythefactthatshewaseducated
inEuropefromtheageofthirteen.Sheonlyreturnedtoherancestral
villageandbeganhercareerasawriterwhenshewastwenty.Ineffect,
shewrotebothasanativeand,likehersuccessorsinAmericannature
writingJohnMuirandMaryAustin,asonewhodiscoveredandfellin
lovewithherchosenplaceonEarthasanadult.Shespenttherestof
herlifemakingitfullyherown.
OneofmanyengagingpiecesinthepresentcollectionisCooper’s
introductiontotheAmericaneditionofKnapp’sJournalofaNat-
uralist.IndiscussingthisworkasanoffspringofWhite’sNaturalHis-
toryofSelborne,andinimplicitlyconnectingherselftothesameline,
sheaffirmsatransatlantictraditionthatrunsthroughherownbook,
andthatcontinuesonthroughWaldenintotheflourishingnaturewrit-
ingofourday.Butshealsoemphasizestheneedforsuchliteratureto
becomefullynaturalizedinitsnewcontinent.Inparticular,Cooper
observesinherintroductionthat,becauseAmericans’ideasofnature
inhertimehavesooftenbeenformedbyreadingEnglishliterature,
theyfrequentlyconfuseEnglishspecieswiththebirdsandanimalsof
NorthAmerica.Asawayofescapingfromthis“dream-likephantas-
magoria,”shesuggeststhat“Wemayall,ifwechoose,openoureyes
tothebeautifulandwonderfulrealitiesoftheworldwelivein.Why
shouldweanylongerwalkblindfoldthroughthefields?”Suchacall
for vividly seeing what is actually around us both connects Cooper
withtheemphasisonvisionbyourcontemporaryAnnieDillardand
anticipatesthewayinwhichBarryLopezseesaninformedsensitivity
to our own home landscapes as the beginning of a truly “American
geography.”
Foreword ix
Cooper’sdedicationtoalocalizednaturalhistoryalsocontributes
toherwriting’snotablycivicemphasis.Itiscleartoher,asametic-
ulousobserver,thatcertainhumanpracticeshavetheeffectofeither
enhancing or undermining the vitality of the community. In paying
attention to the bird species that return to her Cooperstown home
eachyear,shenoteswithalarmthedecliningnumbersofsuchcom-
mon species as “robins, wrens, cat-birds, and humming-birds” and
becomesfearfulforthelargerhealthofherregion.“BirdsThenand
Now”(includedhereinaclusterofessayscalled“OtsegoLeaves”)
conveysanelegiac,politicallychargedvoicestrikinglysimilartomuch
contemporarynaturewriting.AsCooperreportsupontheremarkable
diminishmentinthenumbersofbothsummerandwinterbirdsovera
periodoftwentyyearsandspeculatesaboutthepossiblecausesofsuch
afallingoff,heranalysisisremarkablyprescient.Shecallsattentionto
thedevastatingeffectsofunrestricted,year-roundhunting.Shedraws
aconnectionbetweendecliningbirdpopulationsinupstateNewYork
andhumandepredationsinthosespecies’southernmigratoryrange.
And she becomes an early, eloquent voice decrying the use of bird
wingsindecoratingwomen’shats.Thislastcriticismcontributedsig-
nificantlytoacrusadethat,inthefollowingdecades,ledbothtothe
protectionofAmerica’snativebirdsandtotheformationofimportant
advocacygroups.
A spirit of conservation that grows out of lifelong dedication to
one’sownplaceonEarth,butalwaysrelatesthatcommunitytobroad-
ercirclesofcultureandtothewidermigrationsoflocalwildlife,offers
avaluablemodelforustoday.Inourliteratureandourenvironmental
activismalike,wearenowcalledupontofindsuchaninclusivevision,
onethatincorporateswildernesspreservation,sustainability,andso-
cial inclusiveness. Because of her own attentive and comprehensive
approachasawriter,SusanFenimoreCoopermaybecomeasimpor-
tanttoourfuturethinkingaboutliteratureandnatureasshehasbeen
influentialuponitinthepast.
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