The works explore a variety of subjects in our relationship – environmental ethics, belonging, stewardship, climate change, Indigenous perspectives, and the spiritual dimensions of nature. There are non-fictional and fictional accounts:
- Henry David Thoreau – Walden (1854)
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”
Thoreau retreated to Walden Pond to immerse himself in nature as a path toward self-understanding and simplicity. - Annie Dillard – Pilgrim at Tinker Creek (1974)
“I come down to the water to cool my eyes and to see the actual, literal light of the day, the light as it touches this creek winding its way through the valley.”
Dillard’s observations of the natural world from a small corner of Va. are intensely sensory, revealing her deep attentiveness to the small, vivid details of the natural world. They are both personal and philosophical - Wendell Berry – The Peace of Wild Things (poem)
“When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound…
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief.”
Berry connects nature with emotional restoration and the release from human anxiety. - Mary Oliver – Upstream (2016)
“Attention is the beginning of devotion.”
Oliver’s work often blends quiet reverence for nature with an invitation to deeper presence and gratitude. - John Muir – The Mountains of California (1894)
“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.”
Muir sees nature as a source of health, joy, and spiritual renewal. - Robin Wall Kimmerer – Braiding Sweetgrass (2013)
“In some Native languages the term for plants translates to ‘those who take care of us.'”
Kimmerer weaves indigenous knowledge with ecological science, framing nature as a reciprocal relationship rather than a resource.\ - Ralph Waldo Emerson – Nature (1836)
“In the presence of nature, a wild delight runs through the man, in spite of real sorrows. Nature says,—he is my creature, and maugre all his impertinent griefs, he shall be glad with me.”
Emerson viewed nature as a profound source of spiritual and philosophical insight, a place where individuals could connect with the divine and discover their true selves. He believed nature was not just physical surroundings, but a living, breathing entity that reflected the soul and offered wisdom and renewal. The woods were his cathedral. He saw the handiwork of God everywhere. “In the woods,” he wrote, “we return to reason and faith.” - The Overstory by Richard Powers
A sweeping novel where the lives of diverse characters are intertwined with trees and forests. It’s about resistance, legacy, and the interdependence of humans and the natural world. - Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver
Interweaves the stories of several characters in a rural Appalachian community as they connect with nature, land, and one another. - Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
A coming-of-age story set in the marshlands of North Carolina, where a young girl forms a profound bond with the environment around her. - Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver
Tackles climate change and ecological disruption through the story of a small-town woman who stumbles upon a mysterious natural phenomenon. - My Ántonia by Willa Cather
While primarily about immigration and settlement, this classic novel includes deep reflection on the Great Plains landscape and its shaping of identity and memory. - Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko
A Native American veteran returns from war and undergoes a healing journey deeply tied to the land and spiritual traditions of his Laguna Pueblo heritage.
Fiction