Hey friends,

There are four readings here...but three of these are especially short. (I apologize if I scanned some pages more than once; my scanning prowess leaves much to be desired). The first two (Magnuson and Swanson) were published consecutively in an issue of Bioscience dedicated to long-term ecological research. Pay particular attention to the concepts of the "invisble present" and "the invisible place" and how they might this aspect of long-term inquiry might also apply to nature writing. The third article discusses how nature writing is linked to scientific thought, and the legitimacy of nature writing as a "way of knowing." I found it very thought provoking, and I think it will give you an idea of some of the ideas I've been mulling over. The last piece is an introduction to a recently published book of writing reflections on the 25th anniversary of the Mount St. Helens eruption. The intro is written by the directors of the Spring Creek Project, individuals intimately involved with the HJA Andrews, both scientifically and humanistically. This should give you a better idea of what the goals and premises of the LTEReflections are about at Andrews.

Magnuson, John. "Long-Term Ecological Research and the Invisible Present." Bioscience 40.7 (1990): 495-501. 

Magnuson.pdf

Swanson, Frederick J. and Sparks, Richard E. “Long-Term Ecological Research and the Invisible Place.” Bioscience 40.7 (1990): 502-8.

Swanson.pdf

Raglon, Rebecca. "Signs and Symbols: Literature, Science, and the Legitimacy of Nature Writing." Tamkang Review 32.3-4 (2002): 129-148.

Raglon.pdf

Goodrich, Moore, and Swanson. "Introduction." In the Blast Zone: Catastrophe and Renewal on Mount St. Helens. Corvallis: Oregon State University, 2008.

In the Blast Zone.pdf

Questions:

1) Research on creative writing programs in ecological research sites is rare to nonexistent. I've felt that so far, my research has been a shotgun approach. Any suggestions for where to look for resources?

2) This is pretty interdisciplinary...but does it run the risk of becoming too interdisciplinary and broad? How might I keep things focused?

3) I have an idea of how I see the ecology blending with the writing, and I've tried to pick articles that illustrate how that might be, but I'm interested in your thoughts on the how/if creative writing may foster a deeper connection to the land which may, in turn, foster a deeper ecological awareness.

**I'll may think of more questions in the upcoming week.