Bailey+DG

Bailey, Thomas C. "John McPhee: The Making of a Meta-Naturalist." //Earthly Words: Essays on Contemporary American Nature and Environmental Writers.// Ed. John Cooley. Ann Arbor: U of Michigan P, 1994. Pp. 195-213. Claimed by Deanna Gamble

The article that I chose to read was "John McPhee: The Making of a Meta-Naturalist" by Thomas Bailey. This article begins by stating that McPhee is a brilliant writer. Bailey points out that McPhee writes about nature as a system. McPhee writes about the system of nature constantly being at conflict with any social or economic system created by humans. This of course contrasts with that of other writers, writing with the notion of nature as an escape from man made culture.

At the beginning of McPhee's career he bought into the idea of what was happening to nature was a normal process and that humans did not have much impact on its state. As he matured in his career he shied away from this idea and focused more on the conflict of nature with human culture. McPhee now writes about nature as being threatened by human activity.

Bailey discusses many of McPhee's books in this article, he begins with “The Crofter and the Laird”and “The Pine Barrens”. Bailey says that both of these books although quite different, hold a common theme – an exploration of the “beauties of the threatened natural world”.

McPhee's book, “Encounter with the Archdruid” Bailey explains is the representation of an argument between Floyd E Dominy (Director of the Federal Bureau of Land Reclamation) and David Bower (president of the Sierra Club). Bailey says that McPhee presents both sides of the story that each man presents with great strength while challenging both of their ideas. In challenging their ideas, McPhee questions the nature of human personality and appeal of technology which lead to destruction of the beauty of nature. These two ideas lead into McPhee's next two books, “The Curve of Binding Energy” and “The Deltoid Pumpkin Seed”.

“The Curve of Binding Energy” explores the abuses of nuclear power and what could have been done to prevent it “The Deltoid Pumpkin Seed” focuses on a group of men looking to better the environment with cleaner machinery. In this book, McPhee counters his previous arguments of warnings to be weary of human culture and technology because they will harm the environment. In the case of this book, human culture is working to benefit nature. At this point in McPhee's career he is opening up his mind further and inviting paradigms to become more complicated.

After exploring the relationship between human and nature in his past few books, he returns to nature writing with his book entitled, “The Survival of the Bark Canoe”. This book is about a man who makes himself a natural canoe made from birchbark, he discusses the idea of keeping this art alive in the age of electrical power. This book leads into another called “The Maine Woods” which tells the tail of where the characters from the previous book end up. In this book McPhee also brings up the fear that humans have developed in nature outside of their cultured technological lives.

“Coming into the Country” is considered to be McPhee's most popular book. Bailey says it is a powerful example of environmentalism in American tradition and a challenge to the genre's basic assumptions. He also explores the idea that humans shape wilderness to fit their own purposes and in turn are shaped themselves. This book is broken up into parts, the first part is the tale of a journey that a group of men embark on, being at one with nature, leaving their path unmarked as if they had never been there.

The second part of this book allows McPhee to explore the foolishness of human culture through human need to solve a problem by indulging in a capitalist cycle. This section also deals with the conflict between Native Americans and white men and women.

In the third part, McPhee deals with the connection/ disconnection between people and the government. Bailey states that this section of McPhee's book is somewhat unlike his usual style because he is attempting to understand things individually rather than as a whole. McPhee explores the idea of splitting the people of Alaska (which is where the book is set) into four groups. He deals with these groups individually and attempts to fit them in a larger picture representing a community. McPhee is also attempting to see the good in each of these groups, he is trying to understand why they do the things they do, even when it deals with destruction of nature. Attempting to understand destruction of nature in a positive way is also out of McPhee's character.

McPhee comes to the conclusion that there must be an understanding of both human activity and natural cycles. He argues that by restraining one you may be damaging the other. Again, Bailey points out that this is out of McPhee's character.

Over the next fifteen years McPhee wrote nine shorter books so that he could focus more deeply at a series of books entitled, “The Annals”. This series was an attempt to solve the questions and conflicts raised in “Coming into the Country”.

While writing these books, McPhee had an advantage because of his extensive knowledge about geology and a deep interest in the subject with has massive amounts of experience in this field of writing. McPhee discusses in great length the idea of the human ego and the fact that it cannot understand the “true nature of nature”.

Bailey goes on to discuss what a wonderful writer McPhee is. I think there is one thing in particular that he states that is worth noting and I will leave this summary with this idea to ponder. “.. an ability to juxtapose difficult questions in a way that insures that the reader will become his partner in the making of meaning.”