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Title: Singing to the Sound: Visions of Nature, Animals, and Spirit by Brenda Peterson ISBN: 0-939165-41-4 Publisher: NewSage Press Pub. Date: 09 September, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.75 (4 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Every living thing is sacred.
Comment: Nearly twenty years ago, I was a student in Brenda Peterson's creative
writing class at Arizona State University. Just as she was an
inspiring teacher, SINGING TO THE SOUND is an inspiring collection of
fifteen essays about living one's life with meaning and clarity. It
is organized into three sections, "The Way of Water,"
"Common Ground," and "Between Species."
No
longer a resident of the Arizona desert, Peterson now lives on the
Puget Sound, the primary subject of her book. Her essays are
insightful and somewhat reminiscent of Annie Dillard's writing. About
the rain, she writes, "to survive here without the daily
illumination of sunlight, we must have an inner life bright with
hidden worlds" (p. 18). Living in the company of water, she
writes: "Yet still, I find myself praising the solace and privacy
of the fine, silver drizzle, the comforting cloaks of salt, mold, moss
and fog, the secretive shelter of cedar and clouds" (pp. 26-7).
For Peterson, feeding seagulls is "one of those everyday
prayers" (p. 34). In another essay, we find her unplugging from
information sensory overload to find "spacious quiet"
(p. 164). "Electricity and modems are not the deepest
connections," she writes. "Real bonds are about body and
Earth, fur and skin, and heartbeat and breathing" (p. 166).
Peterson concludes her book with my favorite essay, in which we find
her "down at the beach" with a great blue heron, praying for
the world on the day of the Oklahoma City bombing (p. 188).
This is
a fine book, filled with contemplative moments, each revealing that
every living thing is sacred.
G. Merritt
Rating: 4
Summary: Another Good Book
Comment: I finished this book this month after reading Animal Grace by Randour and McElroy. Both of these books are immensely interesting and well written and I give "Singing..." a "4" only because I gave this rating to "Animal Grace...." as well and ONLY because I still trying to learn about this interface between science and fancy, fact and conjecture when it comes to nature, spirit, man and animal sprituality etc. Peterson's book is somewhat different from Randour's although they've been advertised together. Peterson's book is more of an essay, sensitive and poignant, regarding her own view on man and nature's interconnections; Randour's book makes more actual claims about spirituality in animals. I've mentioned the interest in this kind of work (see Randour's book) which follows on last year "Parrot's Lament" (about animal feelings) and the book "Nabokov's Blues" which dealt with artist Vladimir Nabokov's scientific work and whether or not Nabokov was a pure scientist or a mystic when it came to nature, creation, evolution etc. These are all wonderful books. Its particularly interesting that more and more scientists and other specialists who in the past might not believe in spirituality in nature, feelings in animals, etc. are becoming more outspoken AND that the public, including myself, is giving them a serious reading. This may actually have some value for environmental protection. Its timely in science reading also because the literary world has been full of authors who have had more or less mystical views of nature (Nabokov, Pope, and many others) (with Nabokov, even ghosts entering into the picture!) and sooner or later we readers start asking ourselves about what is "really real". I'd recommend all these books for those who are exploring these frontiers in their reading. Brenda Peterson wrote a wonderful book, "Duck and Cover" earlier, and in "Singing to the Sound" I think the success of the earlier book and allowed her to "let go" a bit more and trust her audience with a bit more of her exceptional vision on how man and nature are intertwined. I'm starting to see some "unity" in the whole thing now (man and nature) as these books continue to appear explaining more about art/science, man/nature and how their inner natures may be intrinsicly intertwined. Five years ago I might not have read these books; I would have been less believing of the subject matter; but I certainly recommend them now.
Rating: 5
Summary: An Important book
Comment: I loved this book, and really appreciate the life-long work that Brenda Peterson has done to write about the ways in which humans and other animals are connected. Her chapters on the Makah whale hunt are beautifully written and very informative. Few of us--even those of us who live in the Northwest and follow the news carefully--would otherwise have access to the many-layered story that she gives us. Writers like Brenda who care passionately about both human and nonhuman animals are crucial to any hope of making progress in the vital area of animal rights.
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Title: Intimate Nature : The Bond Between Women and Animals by Brenda Peterson, Deena Metzger, Barbara Peterson ISBN: 0449003000 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 20 April, 1999 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: Build Me an Ark: A Life with Animals by Brenda Peterson ISBN: 0393050149 Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company Pub. Date: January, 2001 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
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Title: The Sweet Breathing of Plants: Women Writing on the Green World by Linda Hogan, Brenda Peterson ISBN: 086547625X Publisher: Farrar Straus & Giroux Pub. Date: 21 February, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Animal Heart by Brenda Peterson ISBN: 1578051088 Publisher: Sierra Club Books Pub. Date: March, 2004 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Sightings: The Gray Whales' Mysterious Journey by Linda Hogan, Brenda Peterson ISBN: 0792241029 Publisher: National Geographic Pub. Date: 01 July, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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