Nature Journal 5

       When reading the writings of Edward Abbey, one thing really shined through. It was his sense of humor, particularly in the letters at the end of “The Best of Edward Abbey”. This was refreshing and a bit of surprise to me because I do not usually associate nature writing with humor or comedy. No, when I think of an author writing about nature, I tend to think they are writing with their soul and have become enlightened after long meditations and have invoked the muses to move through their quill so that us readers may simply glance at the inner, universal truths that they saw. 
        This was not the case with Edward Abbey, he wrote in a way that I could relate with and made me feel like I could approach the genre of nature writing. Abbey has this sort of every man, “hey, I’m just like you” approach to writing that is a breath of fresh air when compared to the dense vocabulary and descriptions and philosophical questionings of Henry David Thoreau or the Clark text. I think in a way this style reflects nature than that of the other authors because nature at its core is simple and humorous and filled with joy. It is approachable. Anyone, if willing, could at any moment simply decide to go into the wilderness and experience what it has to offer, and I think that is partly what Abbey is trying to show his audience. Nature does not have to be some distant realm that requires some personal journey to be truly realized, but rather nature is all around us and we just have to see it.

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