Book review: ‘Writing Wild’ profiles women writers who bonded with nature

It’s a refreshing walk as writer Kathryn Aalto takes readers through the woods of yesteryears and today.Hopping across continents and spanning over two centuries Kathryn Aalto’s, ‘Writing Wild’ carries readers on an odyssey through the woods of the past and the present while delving into the lives of women writers..This nature walk begins at England’s Lake District with the story of Dorothy Wordsworth. Does that surname ring a bell? Poet William Wordsworth’s younger sister though less recognized was a wordsmith who recorded the vistas of Grasmere countryside..Dorothy’s love for the outdoors –especially twilight and moonlit walks disapproved by her grandmother and aunt -was reflected in her diary jottings. After a walk in Ulswater hills with William, she wrote:.‘When we were in the woods beyond Gowbarrow park we saw a few daffodils close to the water side, we fancied that the lake had floated the seed ashore and that the little colony had so sprung up—But as we went along there were more and yet more and at last under the boughs of the trees, we saw that there was a long belt of them along the shore, about the breadth of a country turnpike road. I never saw daffodils so beautiful they grew among the mossy stones about and about them, some rested their heads upon these stones as on a pillow for weariness and the rest tossed and reeled and danced and seemed as if they verily laughed with the wind that blew upon them over the Lake, they looked so gay ever glancing ever changing..Two years later William wrote ‘Daffodils.’.Dorothy’s trek to Scafell Pike (978m) - England’s highest mountain (1818) is considered a notable ascent by a woman..Aalto writes-‘In a revision of his book, ‘A Guide through the District of the Lakes,’ William Wordsworth includes Dorothy’s letter to her friend describing the Scafell Pike climb. But he did not attribute the letter to Dorothy-giving the appearance that it was his own climb and he wrote the piece.’ Though not university educated Dorothy found her place among distinguished writers. Her ‘The Grasmere Journals’ documents life in 1800s..Another writer eclipsed by a man was Susan F Cooper-daughter of novelist Fenimore Cooper. Susan’s ‘Rural Hours’ (1850) is a record on the changing flora and fauna of Cooperstown. Spring flowers inspired her to pen the following-.‘A pretty habit this, with many of our early flowers, growing in little sisterhoods, as it were; we rarely think of the violets singly, as of the rose, or the lily; we always fancy them together, one lending a grace to another, amid their tufted leaves.’.Initially she wrote anonymously using the moniker- ‘By A Lady,’ now counted America’s first Nature writer..For her essays Aalto travelled to places and her travelogue woven into the essays lends an intimate feel for readers. From England and USA’s Cooperstown we arrive at Indiana (USA) where lived Gene Stratton Porter-the maverick, gun toting writer of 28 books and a woman pioneer in film production..Growing up in Limberlost, Stratton Porter watched the exploitation of the wetlands and the diminishing avian population. ‘Moths of the Limberlost’ (1912) is her collection of photographs of moths clicked in the wild. The story goes that when a male editor wondered if photography was a woman’s work, she answered:.‘In its hardships, in wading, swimming, climbing, in hidden dangers suddenly to be confronted, in abrupt changes from heat to cold, and from light to dark, field photography is not women’s work. But in the matter of finesse in approaching the birds, in limitless patience in awaiting the exact moment for the best exposure, in the tedious and delicate processes of the dark room, in the art of winning bird babies and parents, it is not a man’s work. No man has ever had the patience to remain with a bird until he secured a real character study of it. A human mother is best fitted to understand and deal with a bird mother.’.Which mountain peak is named after a woman?.At 13,057 ft. Mt. Mary Austin in Yosemite valley (California) stands testimony of this woman whose writings capture life and landscape in Owens Valley..Aalto writes that Austin captured with nuance and wit, the desert ecology and cultural traditions of both settlers and native people before the collapse of the valley’s economy..English poet, novelist and garden writer Victoria Mary Sackville West co- created with her husband Harold Nicolson the famous Sissinghurst Castel Garden (England)-transformed from a derelict estate with overgrown weeds and broken structure..Walking barefoot among the Cairngorm mountains (Scotland) and swimming in the lochs, writer Nan Shepherd was not just in tune with Nature but connected with her inner landscape too. It’s a surprise that this reputed writer after completing a 30,000-word manuscript left it in a drawer without publishing it. Printed three decades later ‘The Living Mountain,’ is a paean to the Scottish countryside..‘Writing Wild’ is an eye opener and includes contemporary writers -Rachel Carson whose book ‘Silent Springs’ documented the environmental hazards caused by indiscriminate use of DDT; Gretel Ehrlich-who explored the impact of climate change on indigenous peoples in the Arctic; Leslie Marmon Silko- world’s first woman Native American novelist; Diane Ackerman-whose book ‘The Zookeeper’s Wife’-a New York Times best seller was adapted into a film; Carolyn Finney who explored why Black Americans have been marginalized in the outdoors in her book ‘Black Faces, White Spaces,’ and Elizabeth Rush who travelled the USA coastline for her book ‘Rising’ gathering stories about rising sea levels transforming coastal communities..Besides 25 main essays, there are briefs on fifty other writers..‘Writing Wild’ celebrates women who did not let gender inhibit them. With Nature being an intrinsic part in their lives, this is a fascinating read. Vita Sackville’s quote –‘I worshipped dead men for their strength, forgetting I was strong,’ stays with you.