Zoologies
On Animals and the Human Spirit
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- $2.99
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- $2.99
Publisher Description
"Beautifully written essays" on animals, "the real and mythological, the ordinary and the exotic, the wild and the domesticated" (Publishers Weekly).
Humans were surrounded by other animals from the beginning of time: they were food, clothes, adversaries, companions, jokes, and gods. And yet, our companions in evolution are leaving the world—both as physical beings and spiritual symbols—and not returning.
In this collection of linked essays, Alison Hawthorne Deming examines what the disappearance of animals means for human imagination and existence. Moving from mammoth hunts to dying house cats, she explores profound questions about what it means to be animal. What is inherent in animals that both leads us to destroy and leads us toward peace? As human animals, how does art both define us as a species and how does it emerge primarily from our relationship with other species? The reader emerges with a transformed sense of how the living world around us has defined and continues to define us in a powerful way.
"Beautifully written essays on animal and human behavior and biology . . . highly recommended for lovers of words and nature." —Publishers Weekly
"Human beings live in an age in which industrialization and mass extinction are facts of life. But as Deming suggests in this collection, the more people denude the planet of animals, the more diminished they become in spirit . . . Eloquent, sensitive and astute." —Kirkus Reviews
"Serpentine intellect and wry humor." —Booklist
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Deming's poetry background is evident in this book of beautifully written essays on animal and human behavior and biology. She discusses the real and mythological, the ordinary and the exotic, the wild and the domesticated, and their interactions with humans. Deming reveals amazing facts about our companions on Earth, from storks that carry their aged parents to the genetic bottleneck of cheetahs that threatens their extinction. Sharing anecdotes from near and far, she weaves in stories of her travel experiences in Tanzania and Punta Chueca, Mexico, as well as animals she's observed from coast to desert. Deming's writing is both precise and intricate, allowing her to gracefully transition from natural history to memoir. She describes anthills as "little chemistry kits" and the work of "untrained artists." She reflects on her role as a poet who works in science, ruminating on language and the complexities of the natural world. Deming closes by considering our role in the environment, hoping that our "pathological culture" will change to greater awareness and, many years hence, a beautiful legacy. This articulate compilation is highly recommended for lovers of words and nature.
