Landscapes & Letters
Paul McCarney
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I used to go into the woods and imagine that I was the first to walk on a piece of ground and my footprints were the first to leave their mark. I was drawn to the idea of pristine wilderness. My imagination was romanced by the possibility that I was the first human to walk or paddle a place. I would see footprints from a past hiker and feel somehow disappointed or… Read More
There are far too many great outdoors books to keep up with, but I like to do a couple of these posts each year to highlight some of my favourites. Summer is a great time to catch up on novels, and while the two novels in this list are moving pieces of writing, they are not exactly light-hearted. But if you are looking for outdoors books that dig into the depths of… Read More
It has always been the case that explorers, wanderers, hunters, and conservationists have recorded and later told stories of their experiences in the natural world. As varied in their voices as the environments that inspired them, our bookshelves should be overflowing with their tales and thoughts. As Steven Rinella says in Meat Eater, “hunting stories are the oldest and most widespread form of story on earth.” The knowledge these writers have to share will… Read More
I’m a huge fan of the MeatEater show and podcast. The guests and topics discussed on the podcast are varied, intelligent, thought-provoking, and exciting. I thought I’d post one of my favourite episodes. If you have a good drive to make this week or an hour to sit and relax, do yourself a favour and listen to this.
Introduction to Blog The idea of this blog is to explore a topic that is controversial to many, and perhaps for the most profound reasons that a topic can be controversial. Eliciting a wide and diverse spectrum of opinions and feelings, hunting is a topic that involves complex ecological, political, cultural, and ethical dimensions. Considered this way, it’s hard to deny that at the very least it is worth earnest and sincere discussion.
Paul McCarney