Armbruster, Karla. “Nature Writing.” Keywords for Environmental Studies, edited by Joni

Adamson et al., NYU Press, 2016, pp. 156–158. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt15zc5kw.52.14 March 2019.

Karla Armbruster describes how there has been an increased interest in literature which involves wildlife. This shift has come about as less and less wildlife becomes available because of trends such as urbanization. The article explains the beginning of a genre called “nature writing” (156) in English literature.  

Armbruster’s work is very short because it is an entry to a special dictionary, but it also provides references to other works. Most of these references are recent scholarship. She summarizes others’ observations about general representations of nature in literature.

This work supplies ideas for why nature often has positive connections with the good people in a literary work. On page 157, there is mention of an interesting former claim that a pitfall of nature writing is that it does not consider the plight of underrepresented groups; this claim is put in contrast with Native American literature. I can still tie this claim to the examples of Romantic writers in the work of Melissa Bailes. 

Bailes, Melissa. Questioning Nature: British Women's Scientific Writing and Literary

Originality, 1750-1830. University of Virginia Press, 2017. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1mkbdgn. 14 March 2019.

            This work discusses the literary devices of some female writers in the Romantic Period. Melissa Bailes takes into account the differences between copying and adapting previous literary techniques of male writers. She mentions specific social issues to which the women compare nature and describes the opposition women faced for making certain choices in literature. She notes that different authors focus on or deal especially well with different aspects of society. There is an overview of Anna Barbauld’s contribution to life science literature, Maria Riddell’s literary representation of exotic nature, and Anna Seward’s thoughts on literary criticism and plagiarism which she expresses using biological terms. There is also mention of Charlotte Smith’s challenges to plagiarism definitions through her works about nature. Finally, there is an examination of Helen Williams and Mary Shelley’s expositions which have to do with nature.

            The book does well to address different aspects of life which the women questioned in their works, including how to include scientific information in literature. She refers to many of the prominent Romantic writers such as Mary and Percy Shelley, W. Wordsworth, and Charlotte Smith. She cites multiple other critics.

            This book shows that the views of women writing during the Romantic Period, an era of literary works having nature as a key ingredient, faced certain kinds of criticism and neglect. It shows how the different scientific discoveries and natural settings of English colonies provided a new outlook or vent for these writers.

Full Sample Annotation:

Benvegnừ, Damiano. “‘Birds Who Speak My Dialect’: Poetry, Birds, and Landscape in Andrea

Zanzotto.” Italy and the Environmental Humanities: Landscapes, Natures, Ecologies, edited by Serenella Iovino et al., University of Virginia Press, Charlottesville, London, 2018, pp. 37–46. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt2204q7x.7. 14 March 2019.

This work delineates the close relationship of a modern regional Italian poet, Andrea Zanzotto, to the birds in his poetry. It describes in detail how he compares concepts of the birds to broader concepts of humanity or the current political system where he lives. In the course of three poems which have to do with birds, one sees Zanzotto build in the confidence to represent his dialect. He writes “Lorna” with a reference to birds that can relate to his speech. He writes “Subnarcosi” under the influence of a drug with greater appreciation for the song of a bird and the realization that his dialect is a dying language. Finally, in “Filó” he writes poetry for the first time only in his native dialect, representing his specific way of speaking in the whole work.  

Damanio Benvegnừ gives not only his own literary criticism of Zanzotto’s work but also that of others. Benvegnừ reveals at the beginning that he will analyze three of Zanzotto’s works and proceeds to do so. He makes connections with the specific historical events in Italy to the writing of Zanzotto. These events include natural disasters, so it is an example of how a poet portrays parts of nature to represent the good and the bad. Some of nature is the voice of the minority while other aspects of nature reflect the powerful. 

The focus of the selected poems from Zanzotto is unique because the link is between nature and speech. Zanzotto vies for the position that not only his language but also a kind of art form will disappear. He does so with nature as an advocate.

37- The beginning portrays the songs of birds as a constant in history. Focus is on auditory senses. Several species of birds are still becoming extinct, especially in Italy.

38- The subject transitions from the growing silence of birds to that of people. There is an introduction to Andrea Zanzotto and the recognition of a theme which he developed and is especially noticeable in three poems.

39- “Birds who speak my dialect” is a side not in a poem but the start of something bigger. Soundscape ecology is a new term. The birds’ situation can predict that of the people. The first poem is traditional poetry and describes but does not exemplify Zanzotto’s ideas. There is no strong argument because he does not realize the urgency.

40- While writing the second poem, Zanzotto is getting therapy.

41- “Coming logos” is a pivotal idea. He is becoming more demonstrative in his poetry.

42- “Ancient tongue” is another idea in the second poem reflecting the other end of responsibility in language. Nature is also a representation of the bad. The third poem is introduced. There is a special comparison/contrast of the second and third poems. Negative associations in nature also appear.

43- The conclusion summarizes Zanzotto’s ideas, binding the fate of the people, birds, and poetry.

Boling, Becky. "The trope of nature in Latin American literature: some examples." Studies in

Twentieth and Twenty-First Century Literature, vol. 30, no. 2, 2006, p. 245+. Literature Resource Center, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A162620669/LitRC?u=vic_bluefield&sid=LitRC&xid=c

9426204. 15 March 2019.

Becky Boling examines the use of nature in Latin American and South American literature from the nineteenth to the twentieth century. She explains that Spanish-speaking writers gradually moved from portraying nature as something which humankind needed to improve to something that was beyond human control but can help humans live a better life.

Although the author does not provide exhaustive evidence, she cites multiple sources from vastly different times and countries to make her point. She only gives one or two literary examples of a certain perspective in each shift, but in the end, she examines multiple literary works because she examines a long period of literary history. I do find it odd that someone who has studied Latin and South American literature would call all of it just Latin American.

Important discussions take place about how nature not only reflects the human characters but also sets boundaries or limits in modern stories. What is more, Boling provides examples of literature where nature is against the protagonists or is not in an admirable state.

Engle, Margarita. The Surrender Tree. New York: Square Fish, 2008.  

This is a poetic novel dramatizing the life of Cuban refugees during the Cuban War for Independence from Spain. The story starts with a hopeful girl, Rosa, and slowly adds characters to her life who are good and bad. In the end, the known enemies recede to the background, but a new enemy from the U.S.A. takes their place.

The author has admittedly filled in a lot of details to form the story. Nevertheless, she also conducted research and had interviews with her grandparents who experienced the events of her book firsthand.

This is to be a primary text I use in my research regarding the poetic genre. Nature is a pivotal part of this story. Important features of nature in this work are that it acts as both a friend and guardian to the main character. Nature acts as a hindrance to the slave hunters who wish to kill Rosa.

Guignard, James and T. P. Murphy. Literature, Writing, and the Natural World. Cambridge

Scholars Publishing. 2009. JSTOR, www.cambridgescholars.com/download/sample/59459. 14 March 2019.

This introduction mentions the positive use of nature in literature, especially in recent years. It provides brief explanations for this usage and mentions the importance of interpretation. The book demonstrates almost any medium, from movies to prose to poetry, can incorporate nature into the media as a means of promoting the status of wildlife. The book describes how critics have noticed the influence (intentional or not) which people like Henry Thoreau and Rachel Carson had on this movement. It mentions the power of both personification and the physical setting within literature. It continues to note that nature is often like another dynamic character in literary works; at least, dynamic characters come to describe nature in new ways as they themselves develop.

The introduction summarizes the findings of multiple literary critics concerning a variety of literature. The authors collected essays from various nations which focused on works of literature describing a relationship between people and wildlife.

This work brings attention to the fact that people need to have experienced the symbols in some way themselves if the literature is to have an impact on their lives. When literary works take people to imagined lands, the people need to be able to envision it. If wildlife is becoming a less significant part of a person’s life, that individual may notice it when they see how different a “wilderness” setting is from their own. This work is therefore presenting another side of my research; sometimes writers identify with nature to promote it itself, not mankind. Nature also receives positive and negative associations in the selections. Also, the examination of Carson’s work has links to something which writers name “ecofeminism.”

Kamkwamba, William and Bryan Mealer. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. Illustrated by 

 Anna Hymas. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 2015.   

This is the autobiography of a boy from Malawi. He teaches himself to build a windmill which has far-reaching effects on not only his home town but also his country and other areas around the globe. Friends and the natural world help or hinder him along this long-lasting journey.

William Kamkwamba tells parts of his story from the original childish perspective in which he made decisions and other parts with inserted thoughts he formed later in adulthood. The latter thoughts are often helpful to interpreting American readers.

This is a primary text to use as an example of children’s non-fiction literature. This work is a piece of African literature. An important note is that nature inspires Kamkwamba and provides him with resources to follow his dreams.

Maillet, Greg. “Fear, Friendship, and Delight: The Appeal of Animals in the Children’s Poetry of

Dennis Lee.” Other Selves: Animals in the Canadian Literary Imagination, edited by Janice Fiamengo, University of Ottawa Press, Ottawa, Ontario, 2007, pp. 245–266. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1ckpcbx.15. 15 March 2019.

This article considers the work of one modern poet, Dennis Lee, as an example of why animals are often subject matter in children’s literature. It observes the interesting ways Lee gets children to admire animals which are admittedly dangerous by casting a comical light on them. It discusses Lee’s observations of how children make poetry and how such poetry forms common knowledge and fun in good poetry. Finally, the article explores how Lee uses animals to suggest more complex ideas to children: those of philosophy or other abstractions.

The poet to which the article refers is Canadian and writes humorous short poems. The sources which Greg Maillet cites are mostly the poet Lee with additional support or ideas from other studies of children and classics like Shakespeare and the Romantic writers. The writer also indicates that he exposed his own children to this literature and makes observations on their reactions.

This article is helpful when considering why nature could play such a huge part in children’s literature. For example, Greg Maillet cites Donna Norton to imply that we may associate animals with good people because children like animals. Lee also notes that children voluntarily put animals into their own little poems. The article also contains an example of nature dealing differently with good and bad characters. It focuses on the psychological effects a specific poet wishes to achieve by including animals.

Sachar, Louis. Holes. New York: Yearling, 1998.   

This fictional story tells of a boy, Stanley, who is falsely accused of a crime and sent to a juvenile camp as punishment. At camp, the boy meets some interesting characters and learns a few facts about the surrounding wilderness. The reader also gets interludes of two separate yet related stories which affect Stanley’s story. Stanley and his friends eventually unknowingly make amends for some of the evils in their ancestors’ history.

Because this work is fiction, Sachar did not need to search further than his own imagination for resources. He made revisions to the book before yielding the final result. The work does take into account some of the historical racial and prison issues, but it includes fantasy.

The work is fictional, allowing Louis Sachar to manipulate the various elements of the plot as he wishes. This freedom, together with his constant references to wildlife, provide another primary text in children’s literature to consider how authors use nature. Another thing to note is that Sachar has nature act as both a hindrance and help to Stanley.

Spack, Ruth. “Literature, Reading, Writing, and ESL: Bridging the Gaps.” TESOL Quarterly,

            vol. 19, no. 4, 1985, pp. 703–725. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3586672.

This article begins with an explanation that there was a move to take literature from language learning classes, but now schools are undoing the move with the understanding that students do not have to completely understand the literature to profit from it. The text discusses the value of literature studies in ESL as well as EFL classes. An important argument is that literature should not be used to study the standard grammar because then students do not note the novelty of the writer; rather, literature is to help students practice “interpretive” (706, 707) skills. However, literature should not be the sole source students use to study the culture. Instead, literature provides exciting experiences for learners. The rest of the article discusses methods to incorporate literature into language learning classes.

Ruth Spack cites several sources for this presentation. She also considers the classroom setting for ESL as well as EFL students realistically. She proposes implementations for both scenarios, providing examples of classroom activities and homework.

Literature with much description of wildlife is not the focus of the text, but she does indirectly mention the use of nature in literature to teach life lessons. I can refer to these implications in my research, especially since it ties to understanding and communicating meanings across different cultures. Also, this is recent scholarship recommending this kind of usage in teaching scenarios.

Noel Saunders

Dr. Abigail Heiniger

ENG 3073 01

17 March 2019

Annotated Bibliography

Research Question: When nature is a symbol in a literary work, how do writers of the past and present, especially in minority groups, relate nature to their protagonists or concerns?

Armbruster, Karla. “Nature Writing.” Keywords for Environmental Studies, edited by Joni

Adamson et al., NYU Press, 2016, pp. 156–158. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt15zc5kw.52.14 March 2019.

Karla Armbruster describes how there has been an increased interest in literature which involves wildlife. This shift has come about as less and less wildlife becomes available because of trends such as urbanization. The article explains the beginning of a genre called “nature writing” (156) in English literature.

Armbruster’s work is very short because it is an entry to a special dictionary, but it also provides references to other works. Most of these references are recent scholarship. She summarizes others’ observations about general representations of nature in literature.

This work supplies ideas for why nature often has positive connections with the good people in a literary work. On page 157, there is mention of an interesting former claim that a pitfall of nature writing is that it does not consider the plight of underrepresented groups; this claim is put in contrast with Native American literature. I can still tie this claim to the examples of Romantic writers in the work of Melissa Bailes.

Bailes, Melissa. Questioning Nature: British Women's Scientific Writing and Literary

Originality, 1750-1830. University of Virginia Press, 2017. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1mkbdgn. 14 March 2019.

            This work discusses the literary devices of some female writers in the Romantic Period. Melissa Bailes takes into account the differences between copying and adapting previous literary techniques of male writers. She mentions specific social issues to which the women compare nature and describes the opposition women faced for making certain choices in literature. She notes that different authors focus on or deal especially well with different aspects of society. There is an overview of Anna Barbauld’s contribution to life science literature, Maria Riddell’s literary representation of exotic nature, and Anna Seward’s thoughts on literary criticism and plagiarism which she expresses using biological terms. There is also mention of Charlotte Smith’s challenges to plagiarism definitions through her works about nature. Finally, there is an examination of Helen Williams and Mary Shelley’s expositions which have to do with nature.

            The book does well to address different aspects of life which the women questioned in their works, including how to include scientific information in literature. She refers to many of the prominent Romantic writers such as Mary and Percy Shelley, W. Wordsworth, and Charlotte Smith. She cites multiple other critics.

            This book shows that the views of women writing during the Romantic Period, an era of literary works having nature as a key ingredient, faced certain kinds of criticism and neglect. It shows how the different scientific discoveries and natural settings of English colonies provided a new outlook or vent for these writers.

Full Sample Annotation:

Benvegnừ, Damiano. “‘Birds Who Speak My Dialect’: Poetry, Birds, and Landscape in Andrea

Zanzotto.” Italy and the Environmental Humanities: Landscapes, Natures, Ecologies, edited by Serenella Iovino et al., University of Virginia Press, Charlottesville, London, 2018, pp. 37–46. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt2204q7x.7. 14 March 2019.

This work delineates the close relationship of a modern regional Italian poet, Andrea Zanzotto, to the birds in his poetry. It describes in detail how he compares concepts of the birds to broader concepts of humanity or the current political system where he lives. In the course of three poems which have to do with birds, one sees Zanzotto build in the confidence to represent his dialect. He writes “Lorna” with a reference to birds that can relate to his speech. He writes “Subnarcosi” under the influence of a drug with greater appreciation for the song of a bird and the realization that his dialect is a dying language. Finally, in “Filó” he writes poetry for the first time only in his native dialect, representing his specific way of speaking in the whole work.  

Damanio Benvegnừ gives not only his own literary criticism of Zanzotto’s work but also that of others. Benvegnừ reveals at the beginning that he will analyze three of Zanzotto’s works and proceeds to do so. He makes connections with the specific historical events in Italy to the writing of Zanzotto. These events include natural disasters, so it is an example of how a poet portrays parts of nature to represent the good and the bad. Some of nature is the voice of the minority while other aspects of nature reflect the powerful.

The focus of the selected poems from Zanzotto is unique because the link is between nature and speech. Zanzotto vies for the position that not only his language but also a kind of art form will disappear. He does so with nature as an advocate.

37- The beginning portrays the songs of birds as a constant in history. Focus is on auditory senses. Several species of birds are still becoming extinct, especially in Italy.

38- The subject transitions from the growing silence of birds to that of people. There is an introduction to Andrea Zanzotto and the recognition of a theme which he developed and is especially noticeable in three poems.

39- “Birds who speak my dialect” is a side not in a poem but the start of something bigger. Soundscape ecology is a new term. The birds’ situation can predict that of the people. The first poem is traditional poetry and describes but does not exemplify Zanzotto’s ideas. There is no strong argument because he does not realize the urgency.

40- While writing the second poem, Zanzotto is getting therapy.

41- “Coming logos” is a pivotal idea. He is becoming more demonstrative in his poetry.

42- “Ancient tongue” is another idea in the second poem reflecting the other end of responsibility in language. Nature is also a representation of the bad. The third poem is introduced. There is a special comparison/contrast of the second and third poems. Negative associations in nature also appear.

43- The conclusion summarizes Zanzotto’s ideas, binding the fate of the people, birds, and poetry.

Boling, Becky. "The trope of nature in Latin American literature: some examples." Studies in

Twentieth and Twenty-First Century Literature, vol. 30, no. 2, 2006, p. 245+. Literature Resource Center, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A162620669/LitRC?u=vic_bluefield&sid=LitRC&xid=c

9426204. 15 March 2019.

Becky Boling examines the use of nature in Latin American and South American literature from the nineteenth to the twentieth century. She explains that Spanish-speaking writers gradually moved from portraying nature as something which humankind needed to improve to something that was beyond human control but can help humans live a better life.

Although the author does not provide exhaustive evidence, she cites multiple sources from vastly different times and countries to make her point. She only gives one or two literary examples of a certain perspective in each shift, but in the end, she examines multiple literary works because she examines a long period of literary history. I do find it odd that someone who has studied Latin and South American literature would call all of it just Latin American.

Important discussions take place about how nature not only reflects the human characters but also sets boundaries or limits in modern stories. What is more, Boling provides examples of literature where nature is against the protagonists or is not in an admirable state.

Engle, Margarita. The Surrender Tree. New York: Square Fish, 2008.  

This is a poetic novel dramatizing the life of Cuban refugees during the Cuban War for Independence from Spain. The story starts with a hopeful girl, Rosa, and slowly adds characters to her life who are good and bad. In the end, the known enemies recede to the background, but a new enemy from the U.S.A. takes their place.

The author has admittedly filled in a lot of details to form the story. Nevertheless, she also conducted research and had interviews with her grandparents who experienced the events of her book firsthand.

This is to be a primary text I use in my research regarding the poetic genre. Nature is a pivotal part of this story. Important features of nature in this work are that it acts as both a friend and guardian to the main character. Nature acts as a hindrance to the slave hunters who wish to kill Rosa.

Guignard, James and T. P. Murphy. Literature, Writing, and the Natural World. Cambridge

Scholars Publishing. 2009. JSTOR, www.cambridgescholars.com/download/sample/59459. 14 March 2019.

This introduction mentions the positive use of nature in literature, especially in recent years. It provides brief explanations for this usage and mentions the importance of interpretation. The book demonstrates almost any medium, from movies to prose to poetry, can incorporate nature into the media as a means of promoting the status of wildlife. The book describes how critics have noticed the influence (intentional or not) which people like Henry Thoreau and Rachel Carson had on this movement. It mentions the power of both personification and the physical setting within literature. It continues to note that nature is often like another dynamic character in literary works; at least, dynamic characters come to describe nature in new ways as they themselves develop.

The introduction summarizes the findings of multiple literary critics concerning a variety of literature. The authors collected essays from various nations which focused on works of literature describing a relationship between people and wildlife.

This work brings attention to the fact that people need to have experienced the symbols in some way themselves if the literature is to have an impact on their lives. When literary works take people to imagined lands, the people need to be able to envision it. If wildlife is becoming a less significant part of a person’s life, that individual may notice it when they see how different a “wilderness” setting is from their own. This work is therefore presenting another side of my research; sometimes writers identify with nature to promote it itself, not mankind. Nature also receives positive and negative associations in the selections. Also, the examination of Carson’s work has links to something which writers name “ecofeminism.”

Kamkwamba, William and Bryan Mealer. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind. Illustrated by 

 Anna Hymas. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 2015.   

This is the autobiography of a boy from Malawi. He teaches himself to build a windmill which has far-reaching effects on not only his home town but also his country and other areas around the globe. Friends and the natural world help or hinder him along this long-lasting journey.

William Kamkwamba tells parts of his story from the original childish perspective in which he made decisions and other parts with inserted thoughts he formed later in adulthood. The latter thoughts are often helpful to interpreting American readers.

This is a primary text to use as an example of children’s non-fiction literature. This work is a piece of African literature. An important note is that nature inspires Kamkwamba and provides him with resources to follow his dreams.

Maillet, Greg. “Fear, Friendship, and Delight: The Appeal of Animals in the Children’s Poetry of

Dennis Lee.” Other Selves: Animals in the Canadian Literary Imagination, edited by Janice Fiamengo, University of Ottawa Press, Ottawa, Ontario, 2007, pp. 245–266. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1ckpcbx.15. 15 March 2019.

This article considers the work of one modern poet, Dennis Lee, as an example of why animals are often subject matter in children’s literature. It observes the interesting ways Lee gets children to admire animals which are admittedly dangerous by casting a comical light on them. It discusses Lee’s observations of how children make poetry and how such poetry forms common knowledge and fun in good poetry. Finally, the article explores how Lee uses animals to suggest more complex ideas to children: those of philosophy or other abstractions.

The poet to which the article refers is Canadian and writes humorous short poems. The sources which Greg Maillet cites are mostly the poet Lee with additional support or ideas from other studies of children and classics like Shakespeare and the Romantic writers. The writer also indicates that he exposed his own children to this literature and makes observations on their reactions.

This article is helpful when considering why nature could play such a huge part in children’s literature. For example, Greg Maillet cites Donna Norton to imply that we may associate animals with good people because children like animals. Lee also notes that children voluntarily put animals into their own little poems. The article also contains an example of nature dealing differently with good and bad characters. It focuses on the psychological effects a specific poet wishes to achieve by including animals.

Sachar, Louis. Holes. New York: Yearling, 1998.   

This fictional story tells of a boy, Stanley, who is falsely accused of a crime and sent to a juvenile camp as punishment. At camp, the boy meets some interesting characters and learns a few facts about the surrounding wilderness. The reader also gets interludes of two separate yet related stories which affect Stanley’s story. Stanley and his friends eventually unknowingly make amends for some of the evils in their ancestors’ history.

Because this work is fiction, Sachar did not need to search further than his own imagination for resources. He made revisions to the book before yielding the final result. The work does take into account some of the historical racial and prison issues, but it includes fantasy.

The work is fictional, allowing Louis Sachar to manipulate the various elements of the plot as he wishes. This freedom, together with his constant references to wildlife, provide another primary text in children’s literature to consider how authors use nature. Another thing to note is that Sachar has nature act as both a hindrance and help to Stanley.

Spack, Ruth. “Literature, Reading, Writing, and ESL: Bridging the Gaps.” TESOL Quarterly,

            vol. 19, no. 4, 1985, pp. 703–725. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3586672.

This article begins with an explanation that there was a move to take literature from language learning classes, but now schools are undoing the move with the understanding that students do not have to completely understand the literature to profit from it. The text discusses the value of literature studies in ESL as well as EFL classes. An important argument is that literature should not be used to study the standard grammar because then students do not note the novelty of the writer; rather, literature is to help students practice “interpretive” (706, 707) skills. However, literature should not be the sole source students use to study the culture. Instead, literature provides exciting experiences for learners. The rest of the article discusses methods to incorporate literature into language learning classes.

Ruth Spack cites several sources for this presentation. She also considers the classroom setting for ESL as well as EFL students realistically. She proposes implementations for both scenarios, providing examples of classroom activities and homework.

Literature with much description of wildlife is not the focus of the text, but she does indirectly mention the use of nature in literature to teach life lessons. I can refer to these implications in my research, especially since it ties to understanding and communicating meanings across different cultures. Also, this is recent scholarship recommending this kind of usage in teaching scenarios.