Scott Slovic has spent his life as a teacher, writer, environmental activist, and leader in the field of ecocritical literary studies. In Going Away to Think, he reflects on the twin motivations of his life-- the commitment to do some good in the world and the impulse to enjoy life and participate fully in its most intense moments\--and examines the tension created by his efforts to balance these two poles of his responsibility.
The essays in Going Away to Think cover a wide range of topics, often taking a personal observation or experience as the launching point for a broader examination of a profound topic: from the desperate leaps of tiny fish fleeing a boat in a Mexican estuary to a discussion of the meaning of risk and insecurity in American life; from an encounter with a Japanese organic farmer to a consideration of the role of ecocritics in helping us understand the relationship between nature and culture; from the way we connect to a temporary address to the process of becoming an authentic inhabitant of a specific place. Slovic’s scope is broad, and his voice is both intimate and filled with the wisdom of a lifetime of scholarship and close observation.
Going Away to Think reveals the complex inner life of one of this generation’s most important environmental critics and literary activists. For anyone seeking sanity and purpose in an increasingly complicated and ambiguous world, Slovic offers up his own experiences of balancing commitment with the irresistible, and sometimes necessary, need to retreat and reflect.
