You continue to live them out, making your life a worthy expression of leaning into the light.
“You continue to live them out, making your life a worthy expression of leaning into the light.” Barry Lopez
If I were to offer any advice to young writers, it would be this: be discriminating and be discerning about the work you set for yourself. That done, be the untutored traveler, the eager reader, the enthusiastic listener. Put what you learn together carefully, and then write thoughtfully, with respect both for the reader and your sources.
“If I were to offer any advice to young writers, it would be this: be discriminating and be discerning about the work you set for … Read More
You can’t learn anything from saguaro cactus, from ocotillo. They are just passing through; their roots, their much heralded dormancy in the dry season, these are only illusions of permanence. They know even less than you do.
“You can’t learn anything from saguaro cactus, from ocotillo. They are just passing through; their roots, their much heralded dormancy in the dry season, these … Read More
When I sit at that typewriter, I have to be frightened of what I’m trying to do. I’m frightened by my own belief that I can actually get a story down on paper.
“When I sit at that typewriter, I have to be frightened of what I’m trying to do. I’m frightened by my own belief that I … Read More
There’s so much to be afraid of.
“There’s so much to be afraid of.” Barry Lopez
People think that if you’ve written a book and somebody’s given you a pat on the back then, you know, it’s all – you’re all settled, you know? You’re going to be fine. I know that if I’m not confused, and really afraid, my work isn’t going to be any good.
“People think that if you’ve written a book and somebody’s given you a pat on the back then, you know, it’s all – you’re all … Read More
There are simply no answers to some of the great pressing questions.
“There are simply no answers to some of the great pressing questions.” Barry Lopez
We keep each other alive with our stories. We need to share them, as much as we need to share food. We also require for our health the presence of good companions. One of the most extraordinary things about the land is that it knows this—and it compels language from some of us so that as a community we may converse about this or that place, and speak of the need.
“We keep each other alive with our stories. We need to share them, as much as we need to share food. We also require for … Read More
The writer works on the inside and the critic works on the outside. I don’t know what it looks like on the outside, sometimes. It’s not that I’m not interested-it’s not where I live. I live inside the story.
“The writer works on the inside and the critic works on the outside. I don’t know what it looks like on the outside, sometimes. It’s … Read More
It does not demean men to want to be what they imagine the wolf to be, but it does demean them to kill the animal for it.
“It does not demean men to want to be what they imagine the wolf to be, but it does demean them to kill the animal … Read More
What does it mean to grow rich? Is it to have red-blooded adventures and to make a ‘fortune,’ which is what brought the whalers and other entrepreneurs north? Or is it, rather, to have a good family life and to be imbued with a far-reaching and intimate knowledge of one’s homeland, which is what the Tununirmiut told the whalers at Pond’s Bay wealth was? Is it to retain a capacity for awe and astonishment in our lives, to continue to hunger after what is genuine and worthy? Is it to live at moral peace with the universe?
“What does it mean to grow rich? Is it to have red-blooded adventures and to make a ‘fortune,’ which is what brought the whalers and … Read More
I lay there knowing something eerie ties us to the world of animals. Sometimes the animals pull you backward into it. You share hunger and fear with them like salt in blood.
“I lay there knowing something eerie ties us to the world of animals. Sometimes the animals pull you backward into it. You share hunger and … Read More
Watching the animals come and go, and feeling the land swell up to meet them and then feeling it grow still at their departure, I came to think of the migrations as breath, as the land breathing. In spring a great inhalation of light and animals. The long-bated breath of summer. And an exhalation that propelled them all south in the fall.
“Watching the animals come and go, and feeling the land swell up to meet them and then feeling it grow still at their departure, I … Read More
The gaze of the wolf reached into our soul.
“The gaze of the wolf reached into our soul.” Barry Lopez
It is the imagination that gives shape to the universe.
“It is the imagination that gives shape to the universe.” Barry Lopez
One must live in the middle of contradiction, because if all contradiction were eliminated at once life would collapse.
“One must live in the middle of contradiction, because if all contradiction were eliminated at once life would collapse.” Barry Lopez
Because you have seen something doesn’t mean you can explain it. Differing interpretations will always abound, even when good minds come to bear. The kernel of indisputable information is a dot in space; interpretations grow out of the desire to make this point a line, to give it direction. The directions in which it can be sent, the uses to which it can be put by a culturally, professionally, and geographically diverse society are almost without limit. The possibilities make good scientists chary.
“Because you have seen something doesn’t mean you can explain it. Differing interpretations will always abound, even when good minds come to bear. The kernel … Read More
The attempt to close the gap between what is known and what IS, is the temptation behind the apple in Genesis.
“The attempt to close the gap between what is known and what IS, is the temptation behind the apple in Genesis.” Barry Lopez
For so many centuries, the exchange of gifts has held us together. It has made it possible to bridge the abyss where language struggles.
“For so many centuries, the exchange of gifts has held us together. It has made it possible to bridge the abyss where language struggles.” … Read More
My function as a writer is to provide an atmosphere in which people can think wisely about what we’re doing on this planet.
“My function as a writer is to provide an atmosphere in which people can think wisely about what we’re doing on this planet.” Barry … Read More