Singing to the Sound: Visions of Nature, Animals and Spirit

Nearly twenty years ago, I was a student in Brenda Peterson's creative writing class at Arizona State University. Just as she was an inspiring teacher, SINGING TO THE SOUND is an inspiring collection of fifteen essays about living one's life with meaning and clarity. It is organized into three sections, "The Way of Water," "Common Ground," and "Between Species." No longer a resident of the Arizona desert, Peterson now lives on the Puget Sound, the primary subject of her book. Her essays are insightful and somewhat reminiscent of Annie Dillard's writing. About the rain, she writes, "to survive here without the daily illumination of sunlight, we must have an inner life bright with hidden worlds" (p. 18). Living in the company of water, she writes: "Yet still, I find myself praising the solace and privacy of the fine, silver drizzle, the comforting cloaks of salt, mold, moss and fog, the secretive shelter of cedar and clouds" (pp. 26-7). For Peterson, feeding seagulls is "one of those everyday prayers" (p. 34). In another essay, we find her unplugging from information sensory overload to find "spacious quiet" (p. 164). "Electricity and modems are not the deepest connections," she writes. "Real bonds are about body and Earth, fur and skin, and heartbeat and breathing" (p. 166). Peterson concludes her book with my favorite essay, in which we find her "down at the beach" with a great blue heron, praying for the world on the day of the Oklahoma City bombing (p. 188). This is a fine book, filled with contemplative moments, each revealing that every living thing is sacred. G. Merritt

I finished this book this month after reading Animal Grace by Randour and McElroy. Both of these books are immensely interesting and well written and I give "Singing..." a "4" only because I gave this rating to "Animal Grace...." as well and ONLY because I still trying to learn about this interface between science and fancy, fact and conjecture when it comes to nature, spirit, man and animal sprituality etc. Peterson's book is somewhat different from Randour's although they've been advertised together. Peterson's book is more of an essay, sensitive and poignant, regarding her own view on man and nature's interconnections; Randour's book makes more actual claims about spirituality in animals. I've mentioned the interest in this kind of work (see Randour's book) which follows on last year "Parrot's Lament" (about animal feelings) and the book "Nabokov's Blues" which dealt with artist Vladimir Nabokov's scientific work and whether or not Nabokov was a pure scientist or a mystic when it came to nature, creation, evolution etc. These are all wonderful books. Its particularly interesting that more and more scientists and other specialists who in the past might not believe in spirituality in nature, feelings in animals, etc. are becoming more outspoken AND that the public, including myself, is giving them a serious reading. This may actually have some value for environmental protection. Its timely in science reading also because the literary world has been full of authors who have had more or less mystical views of nature (Nabokov, Pope, and many others) (with Nabokov, even ghosts entering into the picture!) and sooner or later we readers start asking ourselves about what is "really real". I'd recommend all these books for those who are exploring these frontiers in their reading. Brenda Peterson wrote a wonderful book, "Duck and Cover" earlier, and in "Singing to the Sound" I think the success of the earlier book and allowed her to "let go" a bit more and trust her audience with a bit more of her exceptional vision on how man and nature are intertwined. I'm starting to see some "unity" in the whole thing now (man and nature) as these books continue to appear explaining more about art/science, man/nature and how their inner natures may be intrinsicly intertwined. Five years ago I might not have read these books; I would have been less believing of the subject matter; but I certainly recommend them now.

I loved this book, and really appreciate the life-long work that Brenda Peterson has done to write about the ways in which humans and other animals are connected. Her chapters on the Makah whale hunt are beautifully written and very informative. Few of us--even those of us who live in the Northwest and follow the news carefully--would otherwise have access to the many-layered story that she gives us. Writers like Brenda who care passionately about both human and nonhuman animals are crucial to any hope of making progress in the vital area of animal rights.

Watching human beings 'progress' to the detriment of the earth and animals, I often feel a sense of hopelessness. I encourage anyone who feels the same to read this book, Singing to the Sound. Brenda Peterson writes masterfully about some of the most difficult things we face today, with insight, balance and compassion. She gives cause for hope.Inundated as we are by thousands of news sources that trumpet all that is painful in the world, it is natural for us to want to turn away from things like the incomprehensibly cruel Oklahoma City bombing, the heartbreaking battle of wills in the Macah whale hunt controversy, the depletion of the Colorado River in pursuit of electricity, the decimation of the Salmon population, the Exxon oil spill, the 'species management' knee-jerk killing of wolves, and child witnesses to gang violence and murder. But healing is possible. There are people at work to repair and prevent the damage. It soothed my heart to read how, in the chapter Spill, she and her neighbors took action to stop a contractor from pouring excess paint into Puget Sound. In the chapter Great Blue, she found respectful solace with a great blue heron on the beach after learning of the Oklahoma bombing. There is a wonderful chapter called Animal Allies, about inner city children -- witnesses and victims of human brutality -- discovering the strength of their own souls with the help of spirit animals. A powerful section, entitled Common Ground, contains several chapters on the Macah whale hunt, from which I guarantee you will learn more facets to this story than you have in the mainstream media. It is clear that she spent many hours with people directly involved in the controversy, combining painstaking dedication with empathy and sensitivity towards all the participants -- a blessed accomplishment. I treasure this book.