Conjunctions #64, Natural Causes

Conjunctions #64

by Bradford Morrow (Editor), Jessica Reed (Contributor)

As we struggle to understand how our natural environment is swiftly changing-glacial poles beginning to melt, forests and jungles denuded and compromised, fellow creatures increasingly endangered-our fragile, intimate connection to nature is more than ever thrown into focus. And yet nature pervades our lives in the most essential, complex ways, and will surely outlive any human follies that might threaten it. "Conjunctions: 64, Natural Causes" radically reimagines the venerable genre of nature writing, collecting fictional narratives in which landscape is central, sometimes even a character, along with essays on our far-flung habitats, which are thriving as well as suffering. It presents works of ecopoetry, poetic incursions into the seemingly infinite communities of nature's outposts, from coral reefs to tundras, lush alpine meadows to drought-stricken plains. Contributors to this issue include Russell Banks, Joyce Carol Oates, Noy Holland, Miranda Mellis and many others.

Genres: Poetry, Nature

350 pages, Paperback

First published July 28, 2015

About the author

Bradford Morrow has lived for the past thirty years in New York City and rural upstate New York, though he grew up in Colorado and lived and worked in a variety of places in between. While in his mid-teens, he traveled through rural Honduras as a member of the Amigos de las Americas program, serving as a medical volunteer in the summer of 1967. The following year he was awarded an American Field Service scholarship to finish his last year of high school as a foreign exchange student at a Liceo Scientifico in Cuneo, Italy. In 1973, he took time off from studying at the University of Colorado to live in Paris for a year. After doing graduate work on a Danforth Fellowship at Yale University, he moved to Santa Barbara, California, to work as a rare book dealer. In 1981 he relocated to New York City to the literary journal Conjunctions, which he founded with the poet Kenneth Rexroth, and to write novels. He and his two cats divide their time between NYC and upstate New York.

Visit his website at www.bradfordmorrow.com.

Reviews

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

After almost being put off this book by the first story that struck me as somewhat pointless overview of pollinating corn, and several poems that just didn't appeal, I found material that made me glad I stayed with this work by a wide variety of authors. All revolve around man's ever-changing relationship with the natural world. One is even a trippy play on an old sci fi story---call it an update of sorts. My reward for continued reading was a collection of essays and stories, many of which were clever, interesting and distinctly different from anything I've read before.

I particularly enjoyed "Last Days Feeding Frenzy" by Russell Banks, "Transformation Day" by Lucy Ives, "Brother Who Comes Back Before the Next Very Big Winter" by Benjamin Hale, "Big Burnt" by Joyce Carol Oates, "The Return to Monsterland" by Sequoia Nagamatsu, "The Confession of Philippe Delambre" by Greg Hrbek, and "After the Jump" by Matthew Pitt.

Sadly, the poetry throughout the collection simply was not for me. Others might find the poetry involving since poetry can be such a personal taste.

So this was a mixed reading experience for me but there were definite pluses as can be seen in the number of stories I've mentioned above, mostly by authors new to me.

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley.

I haven’t read the other collections in this series, so I can’t compare it to them, just so you know.

Natural Causes is a collection of nature writing that is suppose to push nature writing in another direct or add another layer to it. It doesn’t quite do that as most of the writing comes off as simply fantasy fiction. Mind you, it’s not bad fantasy fiction.

Or maybe that’s my reaction because I read fantasy.

There are selections that do push the definition of nature writing. Most of them are poetry, though there a few stand out essay or short story pieces.

The collection starts strong with “Frothy Elegance & Loose Concupiscence” by Karen Hays. If you have read the work of Pollen, in particular his writing about corn intercourse, you will dig this essay. In it, Hays not only manages to describe corn but to use it to shed light on those who tend it. You learn just as much about the plant as you do about the human condition. Hays is followed by some outstanding poetry – in particular Thomas Bernhard’s “Eight Poems”, which make want to see if any more of his work is in translation.

“Transformation Day” by Lucy Ives is a rather interesting, if metaphorical tale about how perspective changes. It will make the reader re-think how to see things. While Benjamin Hale’s “Brother Who Com Comes Back Before the Next Very Big Winter” is a bit too long for my personal taste, the subject matter, living a town associated with a famous urban legend among other things, but also about life. It’s followed by Evelyn Hampton’s “Fishmaker” which is a rather good re-imaging of a creation myth.

The collection is closed out by China Mieville’s “Listen the Birds, A Trailer”, which just proves my long held point about robins wanting to be our overlords, though you might not be aware of it. It’s a view I’ve long held, and only the sparrows can save this (though Mieville doesn’t seem aware of this).

The essays and fiction in-between “Fishmaker” and “Listen the Birds, A Trailer” are not quite as intriguing as the poetry, though they are good and cover everything from plants to hyenas.
But the poetry. The poetry stays with you.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

This issue was mostly fine. A little dated, i guess, and some of the stories had me scanning. i need to practice my patience for poetry, and conjunctions always provides plenty of range.