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ISBN: 9780063037977

Content: " A profound meditation on the human need for connection with nature, as one man seeks solace beneath the bows of an ancient oak tree.8212 Peter Wohlleben, author of The Hidden Life of TreesJames Canton knows so much, writes so well and understands so deeply about the true forest magic and the important place these trees have in it. Knowledge and joy. 8212 Sara Maitland, author of How to Be AloneJoining the ranks of The Hidden Life of Trees and H is for Hawk, an evocative memoir and ode to one of the most majestic living things on earth8212 the oak tree8212 probing the mysteries of nature and the healing role it plays in our lives. Thrown into turmoil by the end of his long-term relationship, Professor James Canton spent two years meditating [PA1]beneath the welcoming shelter of the massive 800-year-old Honywood Oak tree in North Essex, England. While considering the direction of his own life, he began to contemplate the existence of this colossus tree. Standing in England for centuries, the oak would have been a sapling when the Magna Carta was signed in 1215. In this beautiful, transportive book, Canton tells the story of this tree in its ecological, spiritual, literary, and historical contexts, using it as a prism to see his own life and human history. The Oak Papers is a reflection on change and transformation, and the role nature has played in sustaining and redeeming us. Canton examines our long-standing dependency on the oak, and how that has developed and morphed into myth and legend. We no longer need these sturdy trees to build our houses and boats, to fuel our fires, or to grind their acorns into flour in times of famine. What purpose, then, do they serve in our world today? Are these miracles of nature no longer necessary to our lives? What can they offer us? Taking inspiration from the literary world8212 Henry David Thoreau, Leo Tolstoy, Katherine Basford's Green Man, Thomas Hardy, William Shakespeare, and others8212 Canton ponders the wondrous magic of nature and the threats its faces, from human development to climate change, implores us to act as responsible stewards to conserve what is precious, and reminds us of the lessons we can learn from the world around us, if only we slow down enough to listen. "

Content: Biographisches: " Dr. James Canton runs the Wild Writing MA at the University of Essex and is the author of Ancient Wonderings and Out of Essex: Re-Imagining a Literary Landscape, which was inspired by his rural wandering in East Anglia. He was awarded his PhD by the University of Essex and reviews for the TLS, Caught by the River , and Earthlines. Canton is a regular on British television and radio and lectures frequently. He lives in Essex, England. " Rezension(2): " PHILIP MARSDEN, author of The Summer Isles :With rare delicacy and precision, James Canton has captured the magnificence and mystique of the oak tree. The Oak Papers is a book of deep knowledge, perception, and love." Rezension(3): " Kirkus Review :Echoes of Walden" Rezension(4): " Patrick Barkham, author of Badgerlands :This is a moving, poetic and life-affirming exploration of the idea that a person can form a rich and rewarding bond with an individual tree. The Oak Papers possesses great sensitivity, real wisdom and a deep mystical power." Rezension(5): " Publishers Weekly :Nature-lovers will find Canton's poetic tribute to be a treat." Rezension(6): " David George Haskell, author of The Forest Unseen160" Rezension(7): " Sara Maitland, author of How to Be Alone :James Canton knows so much, writes so well and understands so deeply about the true forest magic and the important place these trees have in it. Knowledge and joy" Rezension(8): " Peter Wohlleben, author of The Hidden Life of Trees :This is a profound meditation on the human need for connection with nature, as one man seeks solace beneath the boughs of an ancient oak tree. The tree and its surrounds come to life in shimmering detail, and Canton's writing has an exquisite, somewhat dreamlike quality" Rezension(9): " Times Literary Supplement :Canton is a stalker of literary ghosts, following traces across the Essex countryside that might lead him to the writers who might have lived and worked among these landscapes." Rezension(10): " Booklist :Canton has written a modern rumination that reads like a classic." Rezension(11): " Robert MacFarlane, author of The Lost Words and Landscapes :PRAISE FOR JAMES CANTON Intensely alive to the landscape,its pasts, people and creatures " Rezension(12): "〈a href=http://www.kirkusreviews.com target=blank〉〈img src=https://images.contentreserve.com/kirkus_logo.png alt=Kirkus border=0 /〉〈/a〉: November 1, 2020 A daily journal in the company of an oak tree. Canton, who teaches a masters course in wild writing at the University of Essex, is keen to locate the connections among literature, landscape, and the environment. But unlike his countryman Robert Macfarlane, Canton takes a more ethereal approach. In his latest book, he explores the strange sense of attachment he has to an 800-year-old tree known as the Honywood Oak on the Marks Hall Estate in northern Essex, in whose embrace he finds calm and contentment. The author reveres oaks above all, showcasing an appealing but excessively Romantic appreciation for these stately trees and ascribing to them significant powers and cognitive abilities. He gazes at old stumps and mourns felled oaks as if they were divine eminences, lending them a spiritual aura. Canton is highly observant, especially of bird species, and his descriptions are often lovely, but they also sometimes take on a purple hue. Within the umbra of the tree, inside the drip line, he is all giddy fascination, bewitched. While his enchantment is initially contagious, it becomes tiresome. Canton deals with the same tree for 120 consecutive pages, ruminating in a repetitive monologue before finally turning his gaze to another tree. The author is more engaging when he comes down from the canopy to relate the history of humanity's relationship with oaks in shipbuilding and construction as well as literature and myth. When he confines himself to history and custom, the text is absorbing, with echoes of Walden. Was there a time in some ancient prehistoric world when the creatures did not flee before us? he asks. Was there a time when humans did not strike fear and alarm into the natural world around them? Canton is highly literate though rather at pains to show it. Eventually, even he begins to question his insistence on anthropomorphizing, which he does too often. Canton's enthusiasm is admirable, but his roots tend to tangle. COPYRIGHT(2020) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. " Rezension(13): "〈a href=http://lj.libraryjournal.com/ target=blank〉〈img src=https://images.contentreserve.com/libraryjournal_logo.png alt=Library Journal border=0 /〉〈/a〉: December 1, 2020 In a time of spiritual and relational upheaval, Canton (Univ. of Essex, Ancient Wonderings ) writes a meditative reflection on the permanence of trees in a transitory world. He particularly seeks solace with a venerable 800-year-old Honywood Oak tree in North Essex. This tree, and a handful of others, beckons to him over a number of years. Getting to know the trees compels him to slow the pace of his life in order to fully understand the true wonder of the trees' existence. As his fascination with the tree grows, Canton seeks out others who are enamored with the tree, ranging from experienced woodsmen to artists and furniture makers. He researches texts, both ancient and new, from Druidic lore to the work of modern scientists whose research into mycelial networks strongly indicate that trees communicate with one another. His study of folklore and historical accounts in order to better understand the close relationship between humans and trees is especially powerful. VERDICT An entirely understated but overwhelmingly thoughtful book that seeks to remind us of the deep history that humankind shares with trees. For all interested in learning more about how we interact with nature, past and present. --Brian Renvall, Mesalands Community Coll., Tucumcari, NMCopyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission. " Rezension(14): "〈a href=https://www.booklistonline.com target=blank〉〈img src=https://images.contentreserve.com/booklist_logo.png alt=Booklist border=0 /〉〈/a〉: December 1, 2020 In the opening pages, British writer Canton hints at an emotional upheaval that led him to seek solace in nature. On a whim, he sought out the Honywood oak, an 800-year-old tree in north Essex and learned of its singular ecological importance as well as the story of the great forest that once surrounded it. Eventually, Canton sought out more oaks closer to his home while immersing himself in the works of Dante, Homer, Eliot, Woolf, Tolstoy, and other literary giants who wrote about trees. The author finds comfort in their poems and fiction and feels a kinship with those who share his veneration of oaks. As he talks to individuals who study and protect these revered trees, he returns always to the unfathomable degree of peace the oaks provide. Knitting together so many realms touched by the trees, from literature to history to biology, Canton has written a modern rumination that reads like a classic. His message is timeless: in periods of great chaos, the stately oak is a center of strength one can truly hold on to. COPYRIGHT(2020) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. "

Language: English

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Author information: Canton, James