Writing Wild

April 1, 2020

Having read an article in Outside magazine listing "essential" books for explorers, historian and landscape designer Aalto noted 22 of the 25 contributors were white men. In a letter to the publication's editor, which became this book, the author presented 25 female naturalists, authors, and thinkers, briefly describing their lives and quoting their work. Here, she presents the women's impressions, amending each section with a list of writers with similar interests in other areas for a fuller bibliography. Aalto writes in an easy, friendly style that makes readers feel as if they are walking the paths of these women with her. She offers casual descriptions of familiar writers, such as Annie Dillard, like a teacher refreshing a past lesson, along with interesting tidbits to keep readers motivated to continue. While this is a wonderful celebration of female nature writers, the list is still predominantly white and American or European, something the author acknowledges. Readers might find it confusing when there is no date or place attributed to a particular piece, or when a section focuses more on the writer's work but leaves out essential biographical details. VERDICT As a succinct introduction to women nature writers, this elegant compilation should have a broad reach and inspire readers to seek out more about the authors featured.--Elissa Cooper, Helen Plum Memorial Lib., Lombard, IL

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2020
Aalto celebrates women who bring a different dimension to nature writing, which she broadly redefines via an unusual mix of visionaries past and present, in the U.S. and Britain. Beginning with Susan Fenimore Cooper and Dorothy Wordsworth, Aalto provides succinct and vivid profiles of 25 radical and riveting writers, including many women of color. Keeping biographical facts to a minimum while emphasizing the overcoming of inevitable sexist obstacles, Aalto showcases well-chosen excerpts and elucidates, often through personal experiences, how each writer's work enhances our understanding of humankind's relationship with the rest of nature. She portrays such necessary figures as Rachel Carson, Annie Dillard, and Diane Ackerman with fresh interpretations, pairing them with pistol-packing, bird-loving, moth-chasing, free-spirited Gene Stratton-Porter (1863-1924) of Indiana; poet Mary Oliver; environmental historian Carolyn Merchant; novelist Leslie Marmon Silko; and poets and writers Lauret Savoy, Robin Wall Kimmerer, and Camille T. Dungy. Each glinting portrait is accompanied by brief bios of other women writers working in the same vein, adding up to an exciting, expert, and invaluable group portrait of seminal women writers enriching a genre crucial to our future.WOMEN IN FOCUS(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)