I lately completed studying Robert Macfarlane’s Landmarks1, a fascinating guide concerning the relationship between language and panorama. This relationship is explored by means of a novel interweaving of two elements: chapters and glossaries, every pair targeted on a distinct kind of panorama. As I learn Landmarks, I used to be struck by its relevance to trendy nature pictures. Specifically, the guide’s glossaries present a framework for a brand new manner to consider collections of pictures.
Earlier than exploring this concept additional, nonetheless, it is very important perceive what Landmarks is and what it units out to perform.
Every of its chapters examines the work of an influential creator who was essentially impacted by the topic panorama, from Nan Shepherd and the rugged Cairngorm Mountains of northeast Scotland to John Muir and the various woodlands of the Sierra Nevada. Macfarlane’s nuanced narratives give the reader the context crucial to achieve an understanding of how the landscapes captivated these authors, impressed them, and formed their literary work.
Borbhan (Gaelic)
Purling or murmur of a stream.
I’m no connoisseur of British literature, which is the chief focus of Landmarks, so I would be the first to recognise that a lot of the subject material in these chapters was past my speedy grasp. I learn with the intent to get pleasure from as a lot as I used to be capable of, with sufficient humility to know that I’d not totally respect each element that Macfarlane explores.
