Sweet Wild World: Henry David Thoreau; Selections from the Journals Arranged As Poetry

By William M. White, Henry David Thoreau, William M. White

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0891820604
• ISBN13: 9780891820604
• Release Date: February 1983
• Publisher: Charles River Books
• Length: 142 Pages
• Weight: 0.71 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Thoreau through the seasons

Just when I think I've seen every modern-day compilation of Thoreau quotations, I turn down an aisle at a used bookstore and gasp in pleasant surprise. Henry David Thoreau wrote in 1850 about "a sweet wild world which lives along the strain of the wood thrush," and here William White reveals glimpses of that realm through selected journal entries arranged by season. White rightly asserts that the transcendentalist's formal poems are clumsy concoctions and are less than memorable, but his prose -- especially portions of his journal -- contains a poetic quality worthy of transcribing into free verse form. Hence, this volume. Individual excerpts appear on separate pages and are enhanced with 16 seasonal pen-and-ink illustrations by Georgia Dearborn. A tasteful gift idea for nature lovers, and certainly less expensive than one of the innumerable coffee table books with full-color photos accompanied by random quotes.