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Natur e and Cultur e in the Norther n For est A mer ic a n L a nd a nd L ife Ser ies╇ |╇ Wayne Franklin, series editor Nature and Culture inâ•… the Northern Forest Region, Heritage, and Environment in the Rural Northeast edited by pav el cenk l for ewor d by john elder University of Iowa Press╇ |╇ Iowa City University of Iowa Press, Iowa City 52242 Copyright © 2010 by the University of Iowa Press www.uiowapress.org Printed in the United States of America Design by April Leidig-Higgins No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher. All reasonable steps have been taken to contact copyright holders of material used in this book. The publisher would be pleased to make suitable arrangements with any whom it has not been possible to reach. The University of Iowa Press is a member of Green Press Initiative and is committed to preserving natural resources. Printed on acid-free paper Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Nature and culture in the northern forest: region, heritage, and environment in the rural Northeast / Pavel Cenkl, editor. â•… p.â•…â•… cm.â•›—â•›(American land and life series) isbn-13: 978-1-58729-856-1 (pbk.) isbn-10: 1-58729-856-2 (pbk.) 1. Human ecologyâ•›—â•›Northeastern States.â•… 2. Human beingsâ•›—â•›Effect of environment onâ•›—â•›Northeastern States.â•… 3. Landscapeâ•›—â•›Social aspectsâ•›—â•›Northeastern States.â•… 4. Community lifeâ•›—â•›Northeastern States.â•… 5. Regionalismâ•›—â•›Northeastern States.â•… 6. Northeastern Statesâ•›—â•›Intellectual life.â•… 7. Northeastern Statesâ•›—â•› In literature.â•… 8. Forests and forestryâ•›—â•›Northeastern States.â•… 9. Northeastern Statesâ•›—â•›Environmental conditions.â•… 10. Northeastern Statesâ•›—â•›Rural conditions.â•… I. Cenkl, Pavel, 1971â•›– gf504.n86n387â•… 2009 304.20974â•›—â•›dc22 2009027581 Contents John Elder Foreword╇ vii Acknowledgments╇ xi Pavel Cenkl Reading Place in the Northern Forest╇ 1 Encounters Timothy Stetter Meeting Twinflower (Linnaea borealis)╇ 17 Terence D. Mosher Music of the Northern Forest: Boreal Birdsong in Literature and on the Trail╇ 28 Natalie Coe Life as Beech: Survival in the New England Forest╇ 49 Teaching and Learning Kathleen Osgood Dana Robert Frost in the Fields and Nils-Aslak Valkeapää at the Treeline: Ecological Knowledge and Academic Learning at the Northern Forest Edge╇ 61 Ernest H. Williams, Patrick D. Reynolds, and Onno Oerlemans Interdisciplinary Teaching about the Adirondacks╇ 77 Jill Mudgett Youth, Refinement, and Environmental Knowledge in the Nineteenth-Century Rural North╇ 98 vi╇ •â•‡ c on ten ts Catherine Owen Koning, Robert G. Goodby, and John r. Harris Place as a Catalyst for Engaged Learning at Franklin Pierce University╇ 133 Rethinking Place Larry Anderson Benton MacKaye’s 1904 White Mountains Hike: Exploring a Landscape of Logging, “Camp Ethics,” and Patriotism╇ 153 Daniel S. Malachuk William James at Chocorua: A Northern Forest Philosopher╇ 171 Richard Paradis A Traverse of the Presidential Range with the Scottish Highlands on My Mind╇ 187 Jim Warren Living with the Woods: Disturbance Histories in Thoreau and Burroughs╇ 213 Nature as Commodity Priscilla Paton In Awe of the Body: Physical Contact, Indulgence Shopping, and Nature Writing╇ 227 Lorianne DiSabato Claiming Maine: Acquisition and Commodification in Thoreau’s The Maine Woods╇ 246 Matthew Bolinder So Much Beauty Locked Up in It: Of Ecocriticism and Axe-Murder╇ 261 Contributors╇ 277 Index╇ 281 Foreword╇ |╇ John Elder B ecause the Northern Forest encompasses both northern New EnÂ� gland and the Adirondacks of New York, it blurs our usual sense of political and regional boundaries. With its combinat