Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses

by Robin Wall Kimmerer

The sad truth is that many scientists believe they have the sole method for understanding the workings of the natural world. Artists don’t seem to share that illusion of exclusive truth.

I take great pleasure in gathering plants, filling my basket with roots and leaves. Usually I go with a specific plant in mind, when it’s time for elderberries or the bergamot is heavy with oils. But it’s the wandering itself that has such appeal, the unexpected discoveries while looking for something else. I get the same feeling in the library. It’s so very much like picking berries—the peaceful field of books, the concentrated attention of the search, and the knowledge that hidden somewhere in the thicket is something worth finding.