Skip to main content

Teaching a Stone to Talk by Annie Dillard: A review

 

Ever since reading Pilgrim at Tinker Creek as a young adult, I have been enamored of Annie Dillard's style of writing about Nature. Teaching a Stone to Talk first came out in 1982 and it feels like I have been intending to read it almost since that time. An e-book edition was published in 2019. At long last, I have fulfilled my intention to read and I'm very glad that I did. Better late than never.

The book comprises fourteen essays, most if not all of which have been published elsewhere but here they are in one collection. The essays are broadly about Nature but they also cover themes of time and memory, as well as touching on religion.

The first essay in the book tells of Dillard's and her husband's experience in viewing a total solar eclipse. She describes the feelings of awe and even fear that she had, in spite of the fact that she understood what was happening. Imagine the feelings of those who have experienced such an event without knowing that it will soon end and their sun will still be there in the sky. I suspect that terror is not too strong a word to apply.

The second essay in the collection is one of my favorites. It is called "An Expedition to the Pole" and it compares the experiences of polar explorers to her own experience of seeking the "pole" of religious practice; specifically, she speaks of her attempts to search for the divine in the Catholic mass. The essay goes back and forth between these two ideas as she juxtaposes the obstacles she must overcome in her search with the sometimes unfathomable decisions made by polar explorers. She finds that they actually have more in common than one might at first think.

Another favorite of mine is the essay called "Living Like Weasels" in which she describes a chance encounter with a weasel at a pond which leads her to ponder what it would be like to live a human life like a weasel.

Perhaps my overall favorites are the essays that describe her experiences in the Galapagos Islands. Those islands have always held a fascination for me partly because of their connection to Charles Darwin and to the important insights he gained there that helped him to formulate his understanding of evolution, but mainly, I think, just because they seem such a magical place with animals that have never been persecuted by humans and so have never learned fear of them. Dillard tells us of the wonder of her experiences with these animals.

The title essay of the collection, "Teaching a Stone to Talk," speaks of a neighbor of hers who actually attempts such a feat. The joke is on him because of course stones and all of Nature do talk if only we have ears to hear.

All of these essays are thought-provoking and they shine through with Dillard's care and concern for Nature. They are easily up to the standard that she set with her Pulitzer Prize-winning Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. Yes, I am glad I finally got around to reading them.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars 
Labels:

Comments

  1. (Diane) Bibliophile By the SeaMarch 31, 2021 at 4:07 PM

    This sounds like a thought provoking collection Dorothy. Happy you shared your thoughts.

    Just curious - do you read mostly eBooks? I still read almost an equal amount of print, eBooks and audio. I'm always hesitant to buy a print book sight unseen as sometimes the print is too light or too tiny for me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersMarch 31, 2021 at 5:27 PM

      I read my Kindle or the Kindle app on my iPhone/iPad pretty much exclusively. I like being able to control the font and the lighting. My eyesight is not what it used to be and this makes reading so much easier for me.

      Delete
  2. David M. Gascoigne,April 1, 2021 at 6:20 AM

    Your review is topical for me, Dorothy. From time to time I buy books from a seller of remainders, overstocks, returns from bookstores etc and for a while now there have been a couple of Annie Dillard titles in their lists. I asked my wife whether she had read any Dillard, and she has not. It may be time to get our feet wet!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersApril 1, 2021 at 8:33 AM

      I believe you will find a lot to like about her work, David.

      Delete
    2. David M. Gascoigne,April 3, 2021 at 6:15 AM

      I will get this from the library.

      Delete
  3. thecuecardApril 1, 2021 at 12:00 PM

    Glad you got to it! The Galapagos is surely a magical place and I wonder if I will ever get there to see all the magnificent creatures. I do like nature writing so thanks for this review.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersApril 1, 2021 at 12:22 PM

      If you are interested in the Galapagos, this one might be for you. She has multiple essays in the collection that deal with her trips and experiences there.

      Delete
  4. Deb Nance at ReaderbuzzApril 2, 2021 at 12:23 PM

    This is definitely a book I'd like to read.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersApril 2, 2021 at 12:25 PM

      You would find it quite interesting I feel sure.

      Delete
  5. Judy KruegerApril 2, 2021 at 12:41 PM

    I tried Pilgrim At Tinker Creek many years ago and think I just was not in the mood. Time to try again, especially after reading Braiding Sweet Grass. Alexander Chee had Annie Dillard for a teacher and has high praise for her.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dorothy BordersApril 2, 2021 at 2:12 PM

      I've been in something of a Nature-writing reading mood lately so this one hit me just right.

      Delete
  6. David M. Gascoigne,April 8, 2021 at 4:30 AM

    I just checked out the book from the library, Dorothy. Thanks for giving me a nudge!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Captivated ReaderApril 11, 2021 at 2:09 PM

    Sounds like a lovely read. I enjoy books about nature.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Poetry Sunday: Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver

How about we share another Mary Oliver poem? After all, you can never have too many of those. In this one, the poet seems to acknowledge that it is often hard to simply live in and enjoy the moment, perhaps because we are afraid it can't last. She urges us to give in to that moment and fully experience the joy. Although "much can never be redeemed, still, life has some possibility left." Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is no...
19 comments
Read more

Poetry Sunday: Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney

My mother was a farm wife and a prodigious canner. She canned fruit and vegetables from the garden, even occasionally meat. But the best thing that she canned, in my opinion, was blackberry jam. Even as I type those words my mouth waters!  Of course, before she could make that jam, somebody had to pick the blackberries. And that somebody was quite often named Dorothy. I think Seamus Heaney might have spent some time among the briars plucking those delicious black fruits as well, so he would have known that "Once off the bush the fruit fermented, the sweet flesh would turn sour." They don't keep; you have to get that jam made in a hurry! Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney Late August, given heavy rain and sun For a full week, the blackberries would ripen. At first, just one, a glossy purple clot Among others, red, green, hard as a knot. You ate that first one and its flesh was sweet Like thickened wine: summer's blood was in it Leaving stains upon the tongue and lust ...
6 comments
Read more

Poetry Sunday: Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman

You probably remember poet Amanda Gorman from her appearance at the inauguration of President Biden. She read her poem "The Hill We Climb" on that occasion. After the senseless slaughter in Uvalde this week, she was inspired to write another poem which was published in The New York Times. It seemed perfect for the occasion and so I stole it in order to feature it here, just in case you didn't get a chance to read it in the Times . Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman Everything hurts, Our hearts shadowed and strange, Minds made muddied and mute. We carry tragedy, terrifying and true. And yet none of it is new; We knew it as home, As horror, As heritage. Even our children Cannot be children, Cannot be. Everything hurts. It’s a hard time to be alive, And even harder to stay that way. We’re burdened to live out these days, While at the same time, blessed to outlive them. This alarm is how we know We must be altered — That we must differ or die, That we must triumph or try. ...
24 comments
Read more