In this collection of exquisite essays, Elizabeth Dodd explores the natural and human history of sites in the American Southwest, the caves of southern France, the Kansas grasslands, and the forests of the Pacific Northwest. In the Mind’s Eye considers the artistic and creative impulses of those who preceded us, making sense of the different ways in which they—and we—express our experiences of landscape in words and images.

 

Hiking to find ancient petroglyphs in the American Southwest, canoeing black-water rivers to reach ancient trees in the coastal Southeast, and considering artists as varied as Georgia O’Keeffe and the poet of Beowulf , Dodd discerns the nature of place as well as our place in nature. Combining lyrical narrative, reflection, history, and science, Dodd invites readers to consider their aesthetic ancestors and connect with the legacies of these landscapes.

Elizabeth Dodd is a professor of English at Kansas State University. She is the author of several books, including Archetypal Light and Prospect: Journeys and Landscapes.

"In these exquisitely rendered essays, Dodd (Archetypal Light) explores the intersections of the arts and the natural world, often coming up with unexpected and insightful conclusions. Dodd serves as an inviting guide to everything from the ancient mammoth cave paintings of Chauvet in France to the joys of owning a wood-stove."—Publishers Weekly

"Each chronicle of a foray out into the world and deep into thought is conceptually creative, finely rendered, utterly confident and spirited, and provocatively illuminating. The highest form of mindtravel."—Donna Seaman, Booklist (Starred Review)

"The joy is in the author's depth of thought, her poetic descriptions, the jumbling together of images, and the sense she makes out of all these elements. In spite of the meditative nature of the material, the writing is conversational and immediate, and each essay can stand alone, allowing readers to explore this book one essay at a time, taking visual and mental "bites." It's a good read anytime—summer on the patio or winter by the fire."—Aline Soules, ForeWord Magazine

"[Dodd's] personal experiences become part of us—even if she is more aware than we are—and her sense of awe is passed on to her readers."—Christine Birdwell, Ohioana Quarterly

"What animates all of these essays is the author's keen interest in actual places and in the images humans—our contemporaries, our early ancestors, and those in between—have used to convey their experiences of these places. Dodd's voice, assured and assuring, never wavers. She tells her stories and unfolds her elegant ideas in prose that is supple, learned, sometimes lyrical, sometimes witty, and always entirely apt."—Association for the Study of Literature and Environment (ASLE) Award judges

"With her keen observations, her probing intellect, her sheer joy and delight at discovery, Dodd has made a provocative, companionable travel guide over the animate landscape."—Lisa Knopp, author of Interior Places