Conversations with Barry Lopez - Annotated by William E Tydeman (Paperback)

About the Book

Known as an advocate for the endangered earth, Barry Lopez is one of America's preeminent writers on nature. This invigorating book invites readers to sit down with Lopez and his friend William E. Tydeman to engage with their conversations about activism, the life of the mind, and all things literary.

Book Synopsis

Known as an advocate for the endangered earth, Barry Lopez is one of America's preeminent writers on nature. This invigorating book invites readers to sit down with Lopez and his friend William E. Tydeman to engage with their conversations about activism, the life of the mind, and all things literary. Even readers who think they know everything there is to know about Lopez will learn much from this richly informative book, both from Tydeman's concise biography of Lopez and from the dialogue about Lopez's ideas and experiences.

The three interviews and Tydeman's reflections on other discussions with Lopez gathered here address nature, human beings' relationship to the land, the tension between political activism and the life of the intellectual, memory and reconciliation, the artist's social responsibility, and the business of authorship. What is the nature of the relationship between the writer and the reader? Lopez asks. It's reciprocal, contractual, and moral.

Lopez's thoughts on the importance of authenticity will resonate with every reader or writer, as will his deep commitment to story in all his work. He and Tydeman engage in illuminating exchanges on style and genre, the publication process, and relationships among authors, editors, and publishers. Both men are interested in photography and its relationship to writing, a subject on which they offer thought-provoking comments. A comprehensive annotated bibliography of Lopez's writings by archivist Diane Warner rounds out the volume.

Review Quotes

"Barry Lopez is one of our most articulate spokespersons--as a writer and as a speaker--for the natural world and the values it should teach human beings. The introduction, the interviews, and the fulsome bibliography of his writings gathered here combine to make a rewarding volume--a thoughtful meditation on nature, people-land relationships, individual-versus-community tensions, and the business of authorship."--Richard W. Etulain, co-author of Stegner: Conversations on History and Literature and author of Re-imagining the Modern American West: A Century of Fiction, History, and Art