I sit down without a clue about what I’m going to write, to see what happens. It’s a little exercise I call “Write Anything Until You Write Something,” and someday — someday soon? — I’m going to put out a book with that title.
I take a swig of coffee, and while my head is raised, my eyes rest on A Sand County Almanac in a pile of books near the ceiling.
A friend’s father gave me that book more than 50 years ago and told me to read it when I was ready, then pass it along. I still haven’t read it, even when I was surprised to find my life had taken me to that part of the country that the author was writing about and where he is a legend for writing this book. Aldo Leopold is universally acclaimed, but nowhere more so than in Wisconsin.
I think I will take that book off the shelf and see if I’m finally ready. The man who gave me the book was just the first of many who have commended it to me over the years, and so I fully expect to be enchanted.
One book I adored, and which inexplicably is hard to find and out of print, is The Clearing by Jens Jensen. You would think a book after which a wonderful educational institution is named would be readily accessible, but I have never seen it in the wild for a price I can afford. A friend loaned it to me and I devoured it. I hope someday to read it again, and more, I hope I can someday obtain my own copy to read over and over again.
