Coast range : a collection from the Pacific edge

Title:

Author:

Summary:

"Coast: the edge of land, or conversely the edge of sea. Range: a measure between limits, or the scope or territory of a thing. Coast Range, the debut collection of essays from writer Nick Neely, meticulously and thoughtfully dwells on these intersections and much more. The book's title refers to the region in which these essays are set: the California and Oregon coastal ranges. In deeply moving prose equal parts exhilarating and pensive, each essay explores an iconic organism (a few geologic), so that, on the whole, the collection becomes a curiosity cabinet that freshly embodies this Pacific Northwest landscape. But the book also employs a playful range of forms. Just as forest gives way to bluff and ocean, here narrative journalism adjoins memoir and lyric essay. These associative, sensuous, and sometimes saturnine pieces are further entwined by the theme of "collecting" itself-beginning with a meditation on the impulse to gather beach agates, a semiprecious stone. Another essay follows the journey of salmon from their "collection" at a hatchery through a casino kitchen to a tribal coming-of-age ceremony; a third is a flitting exploration of hummingbirds"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Chiton -- The book of agate -- The afterlife -- Discovering Anna -- Gone rogue, or suck it up -- A guide to coyote management -- The garden of earthly delights -- The carcass toss -- Chanty -- Homestead -- Slow Flame.

Physical Description:

215 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Genre:

Essays.

Personal Subject:

Neely, Nick.

Subject Term:

Natural history -- Northwest, Pacific.

Geographic Term:

Northwest, Pacific -- Description and travel.

Publisher:

Counterpoint,

Publication Date:

2016

ISBN:

9781619028364

Publication Information:

Berkeley : Counterpoint, [2016]

Call Number:

979 NEELY

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003217521	Adult Nonfiction	979 NEELY	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Coast: the edge of land, or conversely the edge of sea. Range: a measure between limits, or the scope or territory of a thing. Coast Range , the debut collection of essays from writer Nick Neely, meticulously and thoughtfully dwells on these intersections and much more. The book's title refers to the region in which these essays are set: the California and Oregon coastal ranges. In deeply moving prose equal parts exhilarating and pensive, each essay explores an iconic organism (a few geologic), so that, on the whole, the collection becomes a curiosity cabinet that freshly embodies this Pacific Northwest landscape.

But the book also employs a playful range of forms. Just as forest gives way to bluff and ocean, here narrative journalism adjoins memoir and lyric essay. These associative, sensuous, and sometimes saturnine pieces are further entwined by the theme of "collecting" itself--beginning with a meditation on the impulse to gather beach agates, a semiprecious stone. Another essay follows the journey of salmon from their "collection" at a hatchery through a casino kitchen to a tribal coming-of-age ceremony; a third is a flitting exploration of hummingbirds.

Author Notes

Nick Neely grew up south of San Francisco, in the oak and chaparral on the bay side of the Santa Cruz Mountains. He holds an MA in Literature and the Environment from the University of Nevada, Reno, and MFAs in nonfiction and poetry from Hunter College and Columbia University. He is the author of two books, Alta California and Coast Range . His nonfiction has appeared in magazines such as Orion , Audubon , Mother Jones , High Country News , Kenyon Review , The Threepenny Review , The Georgia Review , and Ecotone . He is a recipient of PEN/Northwest's Margery Davis Boyden Wilderness Writing Residency, a UC Berkeley-11th Hour Food and Farming Journalism Fellowship, and the 2015 John Burroughs Nature Essay Award. He lives in Hailey, Idaho, with his wife, the painter Sarah Bird.

Reviews (1)

Library Journal Review

Essays focusing on the coastal regions of California and Oregon introduce readers to the plants and animals of the area and their roles in the environment. The author, recipient of the 2015 John Burroughs Nature Essay Award, has written for magazines such as Orion, Audubon, and Mother Jones and conveys scientific facts in a lyrical style. A collector of natural objects since his California childhood, Neely presents chapters on chitons (marine molluscs), agate, salmon, hummingbirds, coyotes, gold mining (with dredges along the Rogue River), wild mushrooms, hummingbirds, bears, deer, and newts. Living in a mountain cabin while supported by a writing fellowship, Neely had time to explore and reflect on his surroundings and will inspire YA as well as general readers. VERDICT Fans of Joseph Wood Krutch, Henry David Thoreau, and John Muir will enjoy these essays even if they are not familiar with the specific geographic area.-Judith B. Barnett, Univ. of Rhode Island Lib., Kingston © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.