Louis Bromfield, Malabar Farm, and Faith in the Earth
2006; SAGE Publishing; Volume: 19; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1177/1086026606292497
ISSN1552-7417
Autores Tópico(s)American Environmental and Regional History
ResumoLouis Bromfield (1896-1956) produced at least two books whichshould be included n the canon of environmental writing and placehim among the ranks of notable literaryenvironmentalists— Pleasant Valley (1945) andMalabar Farm (1948). These books, as well as five other nonfiction works on sustainable agriculture and ecology, deserve to be placed in the literary tradition of Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Almanac. Bromfield himself should be considered to be a forerunner of the philosophies of Wendell Berry, Gary Snyder, and Wes Jackson. Bromfield's great success at popular fiction has caused him to be slighted not only by literary critics but also by environmentalist scholars; however, several recent critics have asserted that his fiction—much of which is concerned with environ-mental themes such as encroaching industrialism, despoilation of nature, and alienation of people from the land—as well as his nonfiction, should be reassessed. Placing him in the tradition of Sherwood Anderson, they believe that he has made a substantial contribution to the American literary canon.
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