Overview

From twenty-seven of today's leading writers, an anthology of original pieces on the author of Walden Features essays by Jennifer Finney Boylan Kristen Case George Howe Colt Gerald Early Paul Elie Will Eno Adam Gopnik Lauren Groff Celeste Headlee Pico Iyer Alan Lightman James Marcus Megan Marshall Michelle Nijhuis Zo Pollak Jordan Salama Tatiana Schlossberg A. O. Scott Mona Simpson Stacey Vanek Smith Wen Stephenson Robert Sullivan Amor Towles Sherry Turkle Geoff Wisner Rafia Zakaria and a cartoon by Sandra Boynton The world is never done catching up with Henry David Thoreau (18171862), the author of Walden, 'Civil Disobedience,' and other classics. A prophet of environmentalism and vegetarianism, an abolitionist, and a critic of materialism and technology, Thoreau even seems to have anticipated a world of social distancing in his famous experiment at Walden Pond. In Now Comes Good Sailing, twenty-seven of today's leading writers offer wide-ranging original pieces exploring how Thoreau has influenced and inspired them - and why he matters more than ever in an age of climate, racial, and technological reckoning. Here, Lauren Groff retreats from the COVID-19 pandemic to a rural house and writing hut, where, unable to write, she rereads Walden; Pico Iyer describes how Thoreau provided him with an unlikely guidebook to Japan; Gerald Early examines Walden and the Black quest for nature; Rafia Zakaria reflects on solitude, from Thoreau's Concord to her native Pakistan; Mona Simpson follows in Thoreau's footsteps at Maine's Mount Katahdin; Jennifer Finney Boylan reads Thoreau in relation to her experience of coming out as a trans woman; Adam Gopnik traces Thoreau's influence on the New Yorker editor E. B. White and his book Charlotte's Web; and there's much more. The result is a lively and compelling collection that richly demonstrates the countless ways Thoreau continues to move, challenge, and provoke readers today.

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9780691215228

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Reviews

[A] dynamic collection. . . The contributors address what about Thoreau's life and writing inspired them, and what he has to say to readers today. . .The pieces make a convincing case that Thoreau's work is ever-relevant and deserving of continued wide readership. . .Thoreau fans will be delighted. * Publishers Weekly * In graceful, often lyrical essays, the 26 contributors to Blauner's thoughtful collection...consider Thoreau's meaning in their lives. . .Candid, often insightful reflections testify to Thoreau's enduring appeal. * Kirkus *

In graceful, often lyrical essays, the 26 contributors to Blauner's thoughtful collection...consider Thoreau's meaning in their lives. . .Candid, often insightful reflections testify to Thoreau's enduring appeal. * Kirkus *

Author Information

Andrew Blauner is a literary agent and the editor of seven previous anthologies, including Coach: 25 Writers Reflect on People Who Made a Difference, The Peanuts Papers: Writers and Cartoonists on Charlie Brown, Snoopy & the Gang, and the Meaning of Life, and In Their Lives: Great Writers on Great Beatles Songs. Facebook.com/ThoreauAnthology

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