Literature of the Appalachian Trail - essential for hikers who are also writers

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Product Description

Weaving together stories of his hiking adventures with reflective explorations of literary works set along the Appalachian Trail, Marshall traces a literary geography of the trail that ranges from Georgia to Maine and spans three centuries.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1442139 in Books
• Published on: 1998-05-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 284 pages

Amazon.com Review
The Appalachian Trail's story begins in 1921, when Benton McKaye first suggested creating a long-distance hiking trail to his friend, Harris Whitaker, editor of the influential Journal of the American Institute of Architects. The idea was picked up by several regional hiking clubs who formed a committee with the intention of building a trail from New England to North Carolina; eventually the dream became a reality when a hiking enthusiast named Myron Avery joined the project in 1930. By 1937, America boasted a trail that runs (depending on who you talk to) anywhere between 2,100 and 2,200 miles. Whatever the exact mileage, you'd have to agree that it's a long, long way from Springer Mountain (Georgia) to Mt. Katahdin (Maine); anyone walking the trail, either in parts or in its entirety would have a lot of time on their hands.

And what better way to spend it than to read, suggests Ian Marshall, professor of English, avid hiker, and author of Story Line: Exploring the Literature of the Appalachian Trail. Marshall's pleasures are simple ones: he likes to walk, he likes to read, and he likes to think. In Story Line, he's managed to meld all three into a charming and thought-provoking meditation on both the beauties of nature and the artistic inspiration the wilderness provides. In addition to chronicling his own adventures along the trail over the past two decades, Marshall also discusses the literature that evokes what the trail symbolizes for him. There is Thomas Jefferson's "Notes on the State of Virginia" and Walt Whitman's "Song of the Open Road." Annie Dillard, Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, and more all make welcome appearances in Marshall's narrative, as he seeks to find that point of convergence where wilderness and literature meet to create what he calls "ecocriticism," an "ecology of reading." At the very least, Ian Marshall has reintroduced several great American classics to the reading public's consciousness; and who knows--Story Line might persuade some readers to spend the next sunny day on a hiking trail--preferably with a copy of Hawthorne or Whitman in hand.

From Library Journal
English professor Marshall breaks new ground with his ecocritical approach to literary scholarship as he examines the influence of place on literature inspired by the Appalachian Mountain chain, which extends from Georgia to Maine. Describing his work as "a guide to the literary history and geography of the Appalachian Trail," Marshall explores a variety of literature from an ecological perspective, examining each work from its setting along the trail. Thus, he sits on a bridge at Tinker Creek while reading Annie Dillard's Pulitzer Prize-winning work, hikes through the Smokies while considering the efficacy of Cherokee myths for teaching geography in a culture dependent on oral transmission, and speculates on Thoreau's influence on Moby Dick and other writings of Melville while ascending Mt. Greylock in the Berkshires. Entertaining excerpts of Marshall's extensive hikes along the Appalachian Trail intersperse his scholarly ponderings. Recommended for both public and academic libraries.?Maureen Delaney-Lehman, Lake Superior State Univ. Lib., Sault Ste. Marie, MI
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
He's...blazed an engrossing new path to experience some of its finest literature. -- The New York Times Book Review, Keith Schneider

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Customer Reviews

Literature meets the great outdoors
One of my favorite pasttimes is hiking, and I have always wanted to try the whole Appalachian Trail . . . I also have a degree in English from Penn State, so when I heard that a PSU professor had written a book on my two favorite subjects, I just had to have it. Anybody who has hiked the old mountains of the mid-atlantic can appreciate the vivid descriptions and thoughtful insights that Story Line offers. One of my favorite parts of the book postulates a meeting between Thoreau and Melville, noting how the shapes of the mountain near Melville's home looked like a whale, noting similarities of otherworks, and knowing that the two men did, indeed, hike the same path. If you like the outdoors and have a passion for literature, this is money well spent!