Interviews with Joy Kennedy and Steve Slovic

Interviews with Joy Kennedy and Steve Slovic

Hello Joy,

My name is Dimitri Hammond and I'm a student under Susan Hanson at Texas State. I know she's mentioned to you already that you would be hearing from a couple of us, and I think you may have already heard from one of my classmates. Our mission is to discover, through reading literature, and discussing with authors, some of the motives behind writing about nature. In regard to this, I do have a few questions I would love to ask you, and would hope that you would be so gracious as to allow for a few minutes to answer any, or all, of them!

I have read your short essay about your caving trip in west Texas. It definately speeks to me in many ways! I can certainly relate to the sense of discovery and inspiration that a new frontier renders, especially while there are so few left on Earth. Do you think this is what has driven you to not only take on these adventures, but to write about them?

Was there specific events or moments in your past that contribute to your interest in nature and perhaps even nature writing?

Do you think your own personal motive for writing about this, and other experiences, stems from a desire to share the unfamiliar parts of nature with others? Or maybe to just tell others about the adventures in general? Or perhaps, is it more to have a hard-copy preservation of your memories and experiences?

Have you noticed if any of your motives or drives are shared with other nature writers that you've encountered or read?

What do you feel is your prognostication of the sprawling urban and commercial areas' effect on caves, their inhabitants, and their explorers?

What does it take to become a part of some of the Speleological Associations that do cave explorations?

I do student teaching at McNeil High School in Round Rock and their central courtyard is closed off because of a supposed cave entrance and an endangered beetle that lives around (or inside of?) it. Do you know anything about that?

I also noticed that you end the essay with: "Those blank spaces on maps, what few there are remaining, should teach us to recognize our false control over our environment. They are testaments to our frailty, and demand humility. They need to stay empty, unknown . . . and sacred" <38>. This seems to imply that we shouldn't attempt to map any more of the last fronteirs and leave them be, a testament to the sacred and innumerable power or nature and our call to humility. However, I don't think this will impede your future explorations and trips "to the edge," do you?

So I hope you don't mind the bombardment of questions. I've tried tracking down other works of yours on the internet but they're few and far between. I'd love to read more of your stuff if you know of where I can track more down!

Thank you so much for your time. If you have any questions at all about me, my experiences with nature and/or caving, or anything else, for that matter, please don't hesitate to ask! I hope to hear back from you soon!

Take care,
-Dimitri

Dear Scott,

My name is Dimitri Hammond and I'm a student under Susan Hanson at Texas State University. I know she's mentioned to you already that you would be hearing from a couple of us, and you may have already heard from one of my classmates. Our mission is to discover, through reading literature, and discussing with authors, some of the motives behind writing about nature, combining the "lure of nature and the power of storytelling." In regard to this, I do have a few questions I would love to ask you, and would hope that you would be so gracious as to allow for a few minutes to answer any, or all, of them!

Unfortunately I haven't had the time nor the resources to read any of your books, but I have found a great deal of information throughout the internet about your background and works. So I hope you can overlook some of the possible ignorance that may show in some of these questions, but at least they won't be completely naive! ;)

Do you feel that the need to use a "particular language," as you said William Lines puts it, to effectively characterize and defend the things we love, in this case nature and the environment, tends to put a sense of stress on yourself when you sit down to write a piece? Or, in this vein, do you feel that the only time you write about nature you have to make it persuasive or meet some political agenda? Or do you ever finding yourself desiring to write purely for recreation?

"Environmental movement that has been inspired by the work of poets."(Marginality, 2) You've said that readers should be aware of the author's choice of style, poetry or prose, while reading their work. However, the "particular language" that is needed to truly convey your views to others would imply a type of poetry. Do you think so? Or do you think the prose can be just as effective?

Which of these two styles do you prefer to wrote in?

You seem to have caught a glimpse of the inner-workings and motives of many nature writers, either directly through spoken word or from reading and analyzing their work. Is there a common thread that you've found behind their motives and drives towards nature writing? Do you think all of them have, to some extent, a political motive?

In an interview with Stephen Harrigan, he told me that this purpose behind nature writing for those of past centuries comes more from necessity and utility because they're life revolved around the land: farming, landmarks, traversal, etc. Whereas nature writing today is more recreational or political. Do you see it this way as well? What have you noticed as the significant differences between nature writing over the different ages?

What about differences over different timezones and hemispheres and societies of today?

What drove you to study in other countries? Were there any particular reasons why you chose Germany or Japan or China or Australia or Taiwan?

Do you find a sense of pride or accomplishment or happiness being among the "members of the tribe that keep the knowledge of the wilderness alive" (Marginality, 2)?

One of your questions for Rick Bass in 1994 was: "Is it right that your writing, to a great extent, is an effort to explore what it means to be happy?" Have you found this true among other authors, as well? Is it so for you? Does this reflect on your own, personal happiness?

Another question you had for Bass was "What do you think about the complexity of trying to balance a family and your work as a writer?" and he responds "I think finding a solution is complex, but the application is very easy. You get into a rhythm that fits your life and at that point it's easy, getting there may be hard." You seem to be involved in many projects and organizations. I haven't found much information as far as your family, but how have you managed to manage your time to accomplish it all? How would you describe your "rhythm?"

One more question. After graduation, I plan to travel to different parts of the world, possibly even get involved with English Teaching programs, etc. Are there any bits of useful or nifty information about the places you've been? Any words of advice?

Thank you, so much, for taking the time to read through the bombardment of questions. I would love to hear back from you! If you have any questions about me or my studies, please don't hesitate to ask!

I will hopefully hear from you soon!

-Dimitri

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