tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post8836920361134814969..comments2023-12-30T17:31:11.883+00:00Comments on The Solitary Walker: A Hard And Brutal MysticismThe Solitary Walkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11284354541952038339noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-3457429412607377192009-03-31T02:39:00.000+01:002009-03-31T02:39:00.000+01:00Tall as I am (!) I think this is a bit over my hea...Tall as I am (!) I think this is a bit over my head ... Maybe I'm a bit naive, but I prefer to contemplate kindness and gentleness.Raph G. Neckmannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02468502742144495020noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-62737992634945096672009-03-31T01:41:00.000+01:002009-03-31T01:41:00.000+01:00I bought Abbey's book after visiting the park wher...I bought Abbey's book after visiting the park where he wrote it.<BR/><BR/>The harsh beauty of the Arches National Park is a fit setting for the book. It's a necessary antidote to Walt Disney Nature Films that demand we see the natural world merely as extensions of ourselves, ignoring the reality that our species is seldom as sentimental as Disney's nature.Lorenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03152302644577926337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8319797996494487653.post-45559451795452443762009-03-31T00:38:00.000+01:002009-03-31T00:38:00.000+01:00When Forest Wisdom posted this same Abbey bit on h...When Forest Wisdom posted this same Abbey bit on his blog, I think I commented at some length—though I don't remember the earth moving afterwards. :-)<BR/><BR/>It is certainly a good example of Abbey writing as Abbey—desert mystic and cantankerous seeker. Since the publication of Desert Solitaire, I've read almost everything he wrote—from essays to novels to poetry, magazine articles, interviews. A few years ago, not too long after Abbey's death, I happened to be on a week-long publicity gig (publicity for a region, hosted by a state travel bureau) and spent a lot of time talking with a couple of people who knew Abbey fairly well.<BR/><BR/>Abbey seemed to always be both puzzle and paradox, as a writer and friend. To be honest, I'm never quite sure what to make of Abbey except that he was a fine writer with a distinct voice, who never made life easy on himself or those around him. <BR/><BR/>I think Abbey wanted to find and explore a reality beyond the conventional, to experience life and landscape at a level more fundamental than human understanding, and yet to "know" and retain afterwards. As you've pointed out, such a task is impossible. Just as it would be impossible for a baseball to "know" an eagle, it is equally impossible for a man to "know" beyond his human-ness. A "hard and brutal mysticism" is inherently a human ideal; our capacity is always limited, imprisoned, shaped by what and who we are and what we believe.Grizz…………https://www.blogger.com/profile/04828454689578685330noreply@blogger.com