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Indlæser... The Cambridge companion to Henry David Thoreau (original 1995; udgave 1995)af Joel Myerson
Work InformationThe Cambridge Companion to Henry David Thoreau af Joel Myerson (1995)
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The Cambridge Companion to Henry David Thoreau is intended as an accessible guide to reading and understanding the works of Thoreau. Presenting essays by a distinguished array of contributors, the Companion is a valuable resource for historical and contextual material, whether on early writings like A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, on the monumental Walden, or on his assorted journals and later books. It also serves in some ways as a biographical guide, offering new insights into his turbulent publishing career, and his brief but extraordinarily original life. In short, the Companion helps the reader come to Thoreau's writings, as he would say, 'deliberately and reservedly' by suggesting how Thoreau uses language, how his biography informs his writing, how personal and historical influences shaped his career, and how his writings function as literary works. No library descriptions found. |
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 Google Books — Indlæser...GenrerMelvil Decimal System (DDC)818.309Literature English (North America) Authors, American and American miscellany Middle 19th Century 1830-61LC-klassificeringVurderingGennemsnit: (4)
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I have to confess, I had not read any of Thoreau's writing before reading this book. Although I was aware of his greatest work, "Walden", I was never really sure what it was about, and it was only a reference to this work that I read somewhere else recently that lead me to seek out books by or about Thoreau.
This was the first book I came across, and I found it a wonderful introduction to Thoreau's work. From his early writings for various literary magazines, to his first book "A week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers" through to Walden and his later natural history writings, we are given a detailed analysis of each piece.
There are also essays on Thoreau's relationship with Ralph Waldo Emerson, an important figure in his life; his deep connection with Concord, the city where he lived; and his reputation as a writer during his own lifetime, and as viewed through modern eyes.
What’s surprising is how relevant Thoreau’s work still is today. In recent times, environmental management has become a mainstream issue, as our concern and awareness for the damage that has been done grows. However Thoreau was writing about this almost 200 years ago. He was a pioneer of the science of ecology, even before that term was invented.
In the discussion of Thoreau’s journal, we learn more about his philosophies and methods of working. Thoreau viewed his journal as ‘possibly his most important project as a writer’, and he discusses the purpose and value of journal-keeping. This is all placed in the context of the nineteenth-century literary world, where the habit of journal-keeping was prevalent.
Reading this book made me wish that I had discovered Thoreau much earlier. He was exactly the sort of writer I needed to read when I was in my teens and early twenties, struggling with my own writing and passion for natural history.
Whether you have read any of Thoreau's work or not, I believe you will find something of value in this book. If not in the analysis, then definitely in the detailed references and suggestions for further reading. A must-read for all ‘Thoreauvians’.