Three by Annie Dillard: The Writing Life, an American Childhood, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

That's about it. Everyone who loves books knows about Annie Dillard. She's probably going to rank up there with Thoreau. That's a comparison I'll bet--though I haven't checked--must be a cliche by now, in comments on Dillard, and if so I'd further suspect that the author herself would be tired of it. Still, that's probably handy as a rough indication of which literary landscape is her natural habitat. If you really enjoy reading--real reading, where verbal skill, style, and breadth of imagination count as much as the subject matter--then you owe it to yourself to be acquainted with this work.

If you don't know Annie Dillard, this is a good place to start. She has a wonderful writing voice, and constantly says things both surprising and true. After reading the entire collection, which is essentially three very different memoirs, I feel I know her very well - and yet, I know almost nothing about her.

After reading Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard, you will never look at nature the same way again. Her details are never ending and are so unique you feel like you are sitting in a field listening to her talk about her experiences. Her sense of care is much more deep than most people. Many citizens are uninterested about your life, but Dillard is over excited about these adventures. She is very honest throughout the book, and really justifies her thoughts well. Her feelings about religion are also a large part of the book. She believes in God, but wonders sometimes what he really does mean. Doesn't everyone do that? Her details are never-ending in that they explain everything from every dusty corner to things that you never would think about, or want to hear: "I scraped away the smooth snow. Hand fashioned of red clay, and now frozen, the bump was about six inches high and eighteen inches across. The slope, such as it was, was gentle; tread marks stitched to the clay."This example from page 50, first full paragraph, is a wonderful illustration of how thorough she is in her writing. Instead of saying the bump was small and sloping, she decides to write with more action and feeling in the sentences. This helps the reader feel like she is actually there and enjoying the nature around her. Her interest in creatures seems to be unlimited . I have never seen anyone so interested in the concern of insects. The following passage shows this unending love of creatures: "Under the ice the bluegills and carp are still alive; this far south the ice never stays on the water long enough that fish metabolize all the oxygen and die. Farther north, fish sometimes die in this way and float up to the ice, which thickens around their bodies and holds them fast, open-eyed, until the thaw."This section from page 48, first full paragraph, demonstrates care in that she knows so much information about fish and their habitats. This illustrates care and concern for so many in not just fish in general, but animals as a whole. So many times people ask us why, but we never really do have an answer, but it seems not to be the case for Dillard. She can justify anything with a credible answer. This passage shows her talent in answering questions to her full capability: "Is our birthright and heritage to be, like Jacob's cattle on which the life of a nation was founded, "ring-streaked, speckled and spotted" not with the spangling marks of a grace like beauty rained down from eternity, but with the blotched assaults and quarryings of time?"This passage from Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, page 242, continued paragraph, is an example of her justification. Even though she may have the story's background confused from the Bible, she does relate to "Jacob's catt

For those who believe a declarative sentence in the Hemingway style is the nadir of literary style, Annie is not for you. For those who believe elegance of language enhances the reading experience, Annie is a joy and a treasure. Her images and allusions are the rich stuff of observation and imagination, poured straight and undiluted on the page. I'm sure she would say that this makes the act of writing sound far too easy (read "Writing Life" for a lucid rebuttal to any such misapprehension); I'm insanely glad that she endures the agonies of a writer to bring gifts like these remarkable books to us. Thank you, Annie.

Dillard's polyphony of images creates a roundness and depth unfathomed by most modern nature writers. Overlapping images brings breath to observation. Her's are not images of nature upon the dissection table, but nature alive and exuding itself. Her observations pierce the bone and marrow of nature revealing the transcendence and sacrament that is man's experience with nature. Her writings give off the scent of true experience, true life and true thought. Dillard is quite possibly the premiere essayist of our period.