On the heels of some of the most spectacular Los Angeles weather in recent history, and knowing that the mid-Atlantic is waist-deep snow, I highly...
Is there nature in L.A.? Far more than our philosophies dream of, and much more than in Portland or Boulder-more, possibly, on Mapleton Drive alone than in some small towns in Iowa. One may as well ask if there is water in the ocean. To get on the bus-to imagine a more vital and comprehensive nature writing-is to deem the question plain dumb silly, along with "Where is nature?" and maybe even "What is nature?" and especially that nonsense about the end of nature, which makes only as much sense as declaring an end to rocks or air or water and bespeaks exactly the way of thinking by which L.A. lost its river. The powering question of this literature should become, rather, What nature is it?-and then, How do we use nature? How do we change nature? How does nature react? How do we react back? How do we imagine nature? Who uses and changes and imagines nature? And often the most vital questions of all: How sustainably? How fairly? How well?The writing is vibrant and inspired, and to read it is to feel both those things.Part One: The First Six Ways and a Trip to the River.Part Two: Another Seven Ways and an Arrival At the ConfluencePhoto via my kitchen, two days ago.
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