Natural Magic by Rene Bergland

Natural Magic by Rene Bergland

A captivating portrait of the poet and the scientist who shared an enchanted view of nature Emily Dickinson and Charles Darwin were born at a time when the science of studying the natural world was known as natural philosophy, a pastime for poets, priests, and schoolgirls. The world began to change in the 1830s, while Darwin was a young naturalist aboard the Beagle and Dickinson was a student in Amherst, Massachusetts. Poetry and science started to grow apart, and modern thinkers challenged the old orthodoxies, offering thrilling new perspectives that suddenly felt radical—and too dangerous for women. Natural Magic intertwines the stories of these two luminary nineteenth-century minds whose thought and writings captured the awesome possibilities of the new sciences and at the same time strove to preserve the magic of nature. Just as Darwin’s work was informed by his roots in natural philosophy and his belief in the interconnectedness of all life, Dickinson’s poetry was shaped by her education in botany, astronomy, and chemistry, and by her fascination with the enchanting possibilities of Darwinian science. Casting their two very different careers in an entirely fresh light, Renée Bergland brings to life a time when ideas about science were rapidly evolving, reshaped by poets, scientists, philosophers, and theologians alike. She paints a colorful portrait of a remarkable century that transformed how we see the natural world. Illuminating and insightful, Natural Magic explores how Dickinson and Darwin refused to accept the separation of art and science. Today, more than ever, we need to reclaim their shared sense of ecological wonder.

"Although Charles Darwin and Emily Dickinson are not known to have ever crossed paths, this study finds meaning in their shared enchantment with the natural world. . . Bergland links their thinking to an earlier tradition of ‘natural’ (as opposed to supernatural) magic, which emphasized the interconnectedness of life and valued emotion as a form of understanding." * New Yorker *
"Brilliant. . . . A fascinating and elegantly told story about science and religion and art."---Craig Fehrman, Boston Globe
"Taking the form of a joint biography, Natural Magic alternates between Darwin and Dickinson. . . . While Bergland offers comprehensive portraits, building on the extensive work of other biographers and scholars, the book’s own magic shines in the dialogue created between its subjects’ bodies of work."---Kaitlin Mondello, Science
"In this adventurous study, literature professor Bergland pairs Dickinson and Darwin to chart a profound transitional stage in Western intellectual history: a shift toward the separation of scientific and artistic perspectives. . . . An illuminating juxtaposition of two 19^th-century trailblazers and their relevance to scientific history." * Kirkus Reviews *

Renée Bergland is professor of literature and creative writing at Simmons University. She is the author of Maria Mitchell and the Sexing of Science: An Astronomer Among the American Romantics and The National Uncanny: Indian Ghosts and American Subjects.

SKU	Nicht verfügbar
ISBN 13	9780691235288
ISBN 10	0691235287
Titel	Natural Magic
Autor	Renée Bergland
Buchzustand	Nicht verfügbar
Bindungsart	Hardback
Verlag	Princeton University Press
Erscheinungsjahr	2024-04-30
Seitenanzahl	440
Hinweis auf dem Einband	Die Abbildung des Buches dient nur Illustrationszwecken, die tatsächliche Bindung, das Cover und die Auflage können sich davon unterscheiden.
Hinweis	Nicht verfügbar