“His literary style interweaves close natural observation, personal experience, pointed rhetoric, symbolic meanings, and historical lore; while displaying a poetic sensibility, philosophical austerity, and “Yankee” love of practical detail. He was also deeply interested in the idea of survival in the face of hostile elements, historical change, and natural decay; at the same time imploring one to abandon waste and illusion in order to discover life’s true essential needs.” Link
The man referred to above once quipped that on his library shelves were almost 350 books, and he’d written every one of them! He was self-published, and most of his shipment of books lived with him. He believed in his message when publishing house editors did not.
That man is Henry David Thoreau. And without any intention to do so, since I’ve found my writer’s soul and voice over the past few years, I have come to a deeper brotherhood with the man in that we are drawn towards the same elements of simple beauty nearby and show a similar repugnance for waste and illusions of all varieties but especially in the political and pop-cultural realms.
And out of that reverence and celebration of the simple, the real and the wonder-ful has come two books–that I wrote and published myself–and I think HDT would have approved, at least of the independent effort at self-expression and perhaps with some of the sensibilities and nuances of language here and there.
This week I’ll post highlights, photos, and audio links from Slow Road Home and What We Hold In Our Hands. More about the books at slowroadhome.com
Like Mr. Thoreau in 1854, I’ll hope that by the first of the year, maybe there will only be 340 books on the shelves because some will want to own the “complete works” of F. B. First.
To expedite that wish, please note there is a new order form to pay by cash or check that you can download and print at this link or order by PayPal here. I’ve removed the notecards from the order form as I’ve decided to discontinue that product once the remaining card sets are depleted. And the calendar order forms will be a separate document; I’m expecting to hear about (if not receive) them this week.
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you’ve imagined. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler. ~ H D Thoreau
Wow, that quote from Wiki about Thoreau described you to a T.
I never knew Walden Pond was self published, along with many other books. How ’bout that! I bet it’s nice for you to have that kinship.
Thoreau has been one of my heros since I read Civil Disobedience as a young teenager. I didn’t know that he had written almost 350 books though – the Wikipedia entry doesn’t list anywhere near that many. It says “20 volumes” and mentions a two-million word diary. It really doesn’t matter how much he wrote – what he did write resonates to this day.