Off the Beaten Path

by Barbato, Joseph; Nature Conservancy; Weinerman, Lisa

• ISBN13: 9780865475380
• ISBN10: 0865475385
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-06-01
• Publisher: North Point Pr

Summary

The Nature Conservancy, long dedicated to the preservation of wild places, asked thirteen writers to visit one of its preserves or write from past outdoor experiences, allowing a place to trigger their imaginations and make a story possible. Several authors were inspired by the Landscapes of their youth (Jill McCorkle's North Carolina woods, or Richard Bausch's Blue Ridge Mountains), white others explored territory unfamiliar to them, such as Eric Lustbader, who trekked to Alaska. The contributors to Off the Beaten Path include many of our finest writers: Julia Alvarez, Rick Bass, Rita Mae Brown, Gretel Ehrlich, Barry Lopez, Howard Norman, and E. Annie Proulx. From the ominous to the humorous, from the tall tale to the meditative monologue, these stories reflect the variety and character of our diminishing wildlands and, in the end, lead us to places in ourselves that only the best fiction can reveal.

Table of Contents

Preface	3	(7)
John C. Sawhill
Introduction
Barbara Kingsolver
Knowing Our Place	7	(14)
The Chauffeur	21	(38)
Howard Norman
The Snipe Hunt	59	(16)
Jill McCorkle
A Blackfoot River Fable	75	(20)
David James Duncan
Pond Time	95	(12)
Gretel Ehrlich
Glass Meadow	107	(20)
Richard Bausch
Botanizing Upon the Mountain: Two Stories	127	(10)
Lee Smith
Hush	137	(34)
Eric Lustbader
Two Dogs at Rowena	171	(8)
Barry Lopez
The Half-Skinned Steer	179	(18)
Annie Proulx
Fiber	197	(18)
Rick Bass
Early Lessons	215	(10)
Rita Mae Brown
Mink River	225	(18)
Larry Watson
Victor	243	(6)
Julia Alvarez
Acknowledgments	249	(2)
The Nature Conservancy	251	(2)
About the Authors	253	(10)
About the Editors	263