Circling Home by John Lane

Circling Home by John Lane

Lane's explorations-within a one-mile radius of his home in South Carolina-intensify his bonds to family, friends, and colleagues as they sharpen his sense of place. By looking more deeply at what lies close to home, both the ordinary and the remarkable, Lane shows us how whole new worlds can open up.

Two verbs: to roam, to homeNature writers, going back at least to the great T'ang Dynasty poets, have wrestled with these two urges. Lane spent the first half of his life roaming and writing about life on the move. Now comes Circling Home, his big-hearted account of settling down with a family and homing in on the richly textured landscape that surrounds his new hearth. Like Wendell Berry and Wes Jackson before him, Lane superbly demonstrates the virtues and the obstacles of becoming native to one place.

|

Lane puts a saucer down on the topographical map of his homeplace and finds within that circle 'a theory and practice of settlement.' Circling Home recounts the 'adventure travel' he does within that one-mile radius. Whether building a sustainable home with his new wife, kayaking the flooded creek with his stepsons, walking the golf course with his naturalist's eye, or unearthing local history in conversation with his neighbors, Lane writes with beautiful care and attention. This book makes very good company for anyone trying to live a more intentional life.

|

Keen-eyed, Lane's observing—always reminiscent of Thoreau, but especially in this work—sparkles with colors and scents and emotions. His language spills out with all the paid dash and billowing foam of the creek that cuts through his circle.

|

Eloquent and esoteric essays about the archaeological and ecological wonders found beneath [Lane's] feet. Taken together, his descriptive reports create a painstakingly intricate portrait of the land he lovingly calls home.

|

Lane's focus on the particulars of his place pulls readers into a broad view of humans' and nature's movements. . . . Circling Home comments intelligently, and despairingly, on land use, suburban sprawl, and the real possibility that the artifacts by which future generations judge our own may be beer cans and plastic bags. . . . But Lane tempers his civic outrage with a writer's proclivity for seeing alternate points of view. . . . [H]is conversational prose style makes Circling Home a good read—a pleasant way to ponder our own obligations to our constantly changing world.

|

[Lane] uncovers a wide range of curiosities, from the microscopic to the majestic, and in the process, cultivates a deeper sense of family and place.

|

While Lane devotes plenty of ink to the area's quasi-rural geography . . . he delves as deeply into the area's rich history and the conflicting agendas of a present-day community at odds over issues of land use, wetland preservation, and property rights. What really shine are the personal encounters at Circling Home's core. Through these encounters, Lane shows us just how connected we are to the land.

JOHN LANE is professor emeritus of environmental studies at Wofford College. A 2014 inductee into the South Carolina Academy of Authors, his books include Circling Home, My Paddle to the Sea, and Coyote Settles the South (all Georgia). He is also coeditor of The Woods Stretched for Miles: New Nature Writing from the South (also Georgia), and he has published numerous volumes of poetry, essays, and novels. Coming into Animal Presence is his most recent work. He lives in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780820333489
ISBN 10	0820333484
Title	Circling Home
Author	John Lane
Series	Wormsloe Foundation Nature Books
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	University of Georgia Press
Year published	2009-03-30
Number of pages	224
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.