Review of "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek" by Annie Dillard:
On the surface, the book is a collection of nature observations. A copperhead rests on a rock, its head raised. A giant water beetle drinks the dissolved tissues of a frog and leaves a shriveled skin. A mockingbird steps from a roof and free falls, opening its wings and taking flight, just before it strikes the ground.
Beneath that surface, Ms. Dillard adds mystical meditations that can only be interpreted as seeking God.
These spiritual vignettes surface in her writing, like the sacred breaking into the profane. She ends with these words, “And like Billy Bray, I go on my way, and my left foot says ‘Glory,’ and my right foot says ‘Amen;’ in and out of Shadow Creek , upstream and down, exultant, in a daze, dancing, to the twin silver trumpets of praise.
Aside from the sheer exuberance of her writing, Ms. Dillard illustrates her book with quotations from great literature and particularly great nature writing. She is conversant with the writings of mystics, the Old Testament, Pulitzer winning author Edwin Way Teale (a personal favorite of mine) and dessert naturalist Joseph Wood Crutch. Her reference to dancing prefigures her descriptions of Bal Shem Tov, the mystical dancing Rabbi, in her later writings.
Despite the rambling metaphysics, Ms. Dillard sticks to her journey through the seasonal year, a proven approach to nature writing. In this sense, she joins the ranks of Aldo Leopold (A Sand County Almanac), Edwin Way Teale (The American Seasons), Henry Beston (The Outermost House), Henry David Thoreau (Walden), and others. Her book is a great read.
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Ray Zimmerman has organized events and served as master of ceremonies at numerous venues. His photography, nonfiction, and poetry have appeared in regional and national publications.