The Country of Language (Credo)

“Simple, elegant, and enduring.” —KIRKUS

In The Country of Language, Sanders recalls the stories and experiences that have guided him as a writer, and speaks on behalf of a life rooted in the commonplace, in what is becoming paradoxically rare: a sense of “at-homeness” in the natural world. Emerging from his work is the conviction that moments of interaction with the nonhuman worldwhether one is transfixed in a silent stare down with a great blue heron or listening to the voice of a creek while bombs threaten far-off countries—restore the sanity and courage needed to address the griefs of the human community.

“In his usual articulate and well-crafted prose, Scott Russell Sanders continues to relate everyday and natural experiences to greater meanings. . . . His writing, he says, is his way of asking questions.” —Library Journal

In his usual articulate and well-crafted prose, Sanders, author of over 20 books and numerous essays, continues to relate everyday and natural experiences to greater meanings. This addition to the publisher's "Credo" series includes an essay by Sanders describing how he became a writer, a biographical study of Sanders by Scott Slovis, and an extensive bibliography of Sanders's work. Sanders ties incidents from his life to his beliefs and development as an author. Recalling a time when he was lost in a farm field as a child, for instance, he concludes: "Unlike my father, I admit to having been well and truly lost....Instead of panicking, I try to welcome these moments...be still, and discover where I am." His writing, he says, is his way of asking questions and thinking about what troubles him; it is what makes his fleeting moments of insight durable. Recommended for academic and public libraries.ANancy Patterson Shires, East Carolina Univ., Greenville, NC
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