{"id":325,"date":"2011-11-10T15:28:04","date_gmt":"2011-11-10T19:28:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/james\/?page_id=325"},"modified":"2016-12-06T19:59:00","modified_gmt":"2016-12-07T00:59:00","slug":"book-club","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/james\/book-club\/","title":{"rendered":"Literature Circle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Favorite River Quotes (2016-17)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAnyone who takes the time and effort to understand, to respect, and to love the James River will be rewarded a thousand times<\/em>\u201d \u2013 David Ryan, The Fall of the James.<\/p>\n

\u201cWheresoever we landed upon this river we saw the goodliest woods, as beech, oak, cedar, cypress, walnuts, sassafras . . . and all the grounds bespread with many sweet and delicate flower of divers color and kinds\u201d <\/em>– Capt. John Smith, 1607 describing the James River at Richmond<\/p>\n

\u201cNo man ever steps in the same river\u00a0twice, for it’s not the same\u00a0river\u00a0and he’s not the same man.<\/em>\u201d – Heraclitus<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are many ways to salvation, and one of them is to follow a river.\u201d<\/em> \u2014 David Brower<\/p>\n

\u201cIdeas, like large rivers, never have just one source.<\/em>\u201d – Willy Ley<\/p>\n

\u201cI gave my heart to the mountains the moment I stood beside this river with its spray in my face and watched it thunder into foam, smooth to green glass over sunken rocks, shatter to foam again\u2026It was rare and comforting to waken late and hear the undiminished shouting of the water in the night. And at sun up it was still there, powerful and incessant, with the slant sun tangled in its rainbow spray, the grass blue with wetness, and the air heady as ether and scented with campfire smoke. By such a river it is impossible to believe that one will ever be tired or old. Every sense applauds it. Taste it, feel its chill on the teeth: it is purity absolute. Watch its racing current, its steady renewal of force: it is transient and eternal. And listen again to its sounds: get far enough away so that the sound of falling tons of water does not stun the ears, and hear how much is going on underneath\u2014a whole symphony of smaller sounds, hiss and splash and gurgle, the small talk of side channels, the whisper of blown and scattered spray gathering itself and beginning to flow again, secret and irresistible, among the wet rocks.<\/em>\u201d -Wallace Stegner<\/p>\n

\u201cLeave it as it is . . . The ages have been at work on it, and man can only mar it.<\/em>\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u2013 Theodore Roosevelt<\/p>\n

\u201cRivers are more then just conduits of water. They are the blue arteries of the earth.<\/em>\u201d \u2013 Sandra Postel and Brian Richter<\/p>\n

\u201cNever test the depth of a river with both feet.<\/em>\u201d- Warren Buffet<\/p>\n

\u201cLike a river flows surely to the sea, darling, so it goes, some things were meant to be.<\/em>\u201d -Elvis Presley<\/p>\n

\u201cWho looks upon a river in a meditative hour, and is not reminded of the flux of all things? Throw a stone into the stream, and the circles that propagate themselves are the beautiful type of all influence.<\/em>\u201d – Ralph Waldo Emerson<\/p>\n

\u201cA river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but bece of its persistence.<\/em>\u201d \u2014 Jim Watkins<\/p>\n

\u201cRivers know this: There is no hurry. We shall get there someday.<\/em>\u201d \u2014 A. A. Milne<\/p>\n

\u201cAs symbols of purity, renewal, timelessness, and healing, rivers have shaped human spirituality like few other features of the natural world.<\/em>\u201d \u2013 Sandra Postel and Brian Richter<\/p>\n

\u201cLanguage, numbers, and even metaphors serve for what they are, partial records of what we have seen at different times and places that show how we keep taming our rivers with words. But beyond that there is time and silence \u2013 and the inexplicable spirit of the river.<\/em>\u201d- Ann Woodlief.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Reading Circle (2012-13)<\/strong><\/p>\n

The goal of the literature circle is twofold: 1) To enhance your academic experience throught readings that introduce interesting and relevant ideas,\u00a0 2) To enhance your community experience by learning about each other via personal stories, free expression of ideas, having fun, and nomnoms. Discussions should be open and relaxed. Participation is expected, but don\u2019t feel like you have to speak a lot for the sake of saying something. Please also remember that it\u2019s everyone\u2019s responsibility to make others feel comfortable.<\/p>\n

Schedule:<\/p>\n

1\/22\/12- Selections from Pilgrim at Tinker Creek<\/p>\n

1\/29\/12- Selections from Into the Wild<\/p>\n

2\/19\/12- 12 x 12 Chapters 1, 4, 5, 6, 12,<\/p>\n

2\/26\/12- 12 x 12 Chapters 13, 15, 16, 21<\/p>\n

3\/25\/12- Grizzly Man article and movie<\/p>\n

3\/29\/12 \u2013 Guest readings from The Forest Unseen by David Haskill<\/p>\n

4\/8\/12- Review, synthesis, creative project<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Some Parting Thoughts:<\/p>\n

Carolyn Dombrowski<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cClimb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature\u2019s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.\u201d \u2013John Muir<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Make ready your pack<\/p>\n

Man is a strand in the web<\/p>\n

Tread lightly, go far<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Caroline Hildebrand<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cMake a radical change in your lifestyle and begin to boldly do things which you may previously never have thought of doing, or been too hesitant to attempt. So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservation, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun. If you want to get more out of life, you must lose your inclination for monotonous security and adopt a helter-skelter style of life that will at first appear to you to be crazy. But once you become accustomed to such a life you will see its full meaning and its incredible beauty.\u201d
\n-Chris McCandless, Into the Wild<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

My journeys in the wilderness<\/p>\n

have been unpredictable.<\/p>\n

One cannot fathom beforehand<\/p>\n

the adventures that the wild has to offer<\/p>\n

until you are placed right within its core.<\/p>\n

Time and time again I go into the wild<\/p>\n

but none of the times are the same,<\/p>\n

or similar,<\/p>\n

or even remotely alike whatsoever.<\/p>\n

The only thing they have in common<\/p>\n

is that they bring my soul closer to the truth of my being:<\/p>\n

what I am really here to do<\/p>\n

and where I am headed.<\/p>\n

Why are people drawn to the wild<\/p>\n

while others turn from it?<\/p>\n

I think it is being face-to-face with raw truth<\/p>\n

unearthed by the wilderness<\/p>\n

that both attracts and frightens all people.<\/p>\n

The true beauty in appreciating wilderness<\/p>\n

is being able to experience both of these feelings<\/p>\n

at the exact same time.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n


\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mark Massaro<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cNever doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.\u201d<\/p>\n

-Margaret Mead , US anthropologist & popularizer of anthropology (1901 – 1978)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Earth Lodge:<\/p>\n

Where wetlands and watersheds wash away worries,<\/p>\n

or rather channel them into action.<\/p>\n

Where friends become family and tell stories,<\/p>\n

\u00a0and come together over one unending attraction.<\/p>\n

Where we learn to love the planet that feeds us,<\/p>\n

and enjoy its beauty for a while.<\/p>\n

Where grapes and iced tea are a must,<\/p>\n

and always, always- a smile.<\/p>\n

Where we don\u2019t view humans and nature as two,<\/p>\n

but rather as one.<\/p>\n

Where we want you,<\/p>\n

to come in and join the fun.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Shannon Rollins<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Every tale untold is a new world born in the spaces in between.”<\/p>\n

Immortality
\nIs cracking the blackened shell of a burnt marshmallow
\nTo find the center still soft and white and sweet<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Erin Fitzmaurice<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cLife is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n

-Ashley Smith<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

You live<\/p>\n

You love<\/p>\n

You dream<\/p>\n

You hope<\/p>\n

You can travel the world<\/p>\n

You can live in your dream house<\/p>\n

You can find your one true love<\/p>\n

You can be who you want to be<\/p>\n

Just be you<\/p>\n

Just be happy<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Michael Wormald<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a sketchbook in a digital age.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s picture of a fleeting image.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a secret magic world,<\/p>\n

Gone past and now behind.<\/p>\n

All I want to do is turn around.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the future in a wine bottle.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the flow of a mighty river.<\/p>\n

Some things change,<\/p>\n

Others stay the same.<\/p>\n

And all I want to do is turn around.<\/p>\n

But I don\u2019t want to be left behind,<\/p>\n

In an unfinished caricature,<\/p>\n

In the bottom of a bottle,<\/p>\n

In a passing moment gone.<\/p>\n

\u201cI looked for the answer to my question. But reason could not give me an answer. Reason is immeasurable with the question. Life itself has given me the answer, in my knowledge of what is good and bad. And that knowledge I did not acquire in any way; it was given to me as to everybody, given because I could not take it form anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

~Tolstoy<\/p>\n

Phoebe Krumich<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tea Lodge<\/p>\n

Earth Lodge is the place to boil yourself down.<\/p>\n

Pour whatever you are into the kettle.<\/p>\n

Swash and splash, whirlpool and spill,<\/p>\n

But steep yourself in lodge life.<\/p>\n

Sweeten with things felt down deep<\/p>\n

In the granular sugar of the soul\u2014<\/p>\n

From the depths of what was once individual,<\/p>\n

Now something of scalding,<\/p>\n

Body and mind-changing significance.<\/p>\n

“Few people know how to take a walk. The qualifications are endurance, plain clothes, old shoes, an eye for nature, good humor, vast curiosity, good speech, good silence and nothing too much.”<\/p>\n

\u2014\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Ralph Waldo Emerson<\/p>\n


\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Celeste Reppond<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Now this is the Law of the jungle- as old and as true as the sky;<\/p>\n

And the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that breaks it may die.<\/p>\n

As the creeper that girdles the tree trunk, the law runneth forward and back-<\/p>\n

For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack.”<\/p>\n

-Rudyard Kipling<\/p>\n

Potted plants<\/p>\n

Growing piles of recycling<\/p>\n

Failed composting measures<\/p>\n

Days without turning on the light<\/p>\n

So goes suite 408<\/p>\n

Together<\/p>\n

Doing life<\/p>\n

Learning more from each other<\/p>\n

Than could have ever been imagined<\/p>\n

So goes suite 408<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

C.J. Smith<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAll things change, nothing is extinguished. There is nothing in the whole world, which is permanent. Everything flows onward; all things are brought into being with a changing nature; the ages themselves glide by in constant movement.\u201d\u00a0 – Ovid<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A river flows on.<\/p>\n

No stream is ever the same,<\/p>\n

But they evoke familiar emotions.<\/p>\n

A river flows on<\/p>\n

With a constant murmur<\/p>\n

That drowns woes<\/p>\n

And uplifts the spirit.<\/p>\n

A river flows on<\/p>\n

Regardless of diversion.<\/p>\n

It cannot be extinguished<\/p>\n

And will outlast those<\/p>\n

Who believe<\/p>\n

They can change it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Josh Pickell<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gazelle is no match
\nthe Hunter prowls
\nMakes a catch<\/p>\n

Triumphant growl<\/p>\n

“I get my best ideas in a thunderstorm. I have the power and majesty
\nof nature on my side.” -Ralph Steadman<\/p>\n


\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kelin Kruithoff<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oh Lodge of Lodges<\/p>\n

Sitting in the dim light,<\/p>\n

A calming atmosphere warms.<\/p>\n

The family that sleeps<\/p>\n

In interests of nature<\/p>\n

And with ever open doors;<\/p>\n

They own the house.<\/p>\n

Those days of days,<\/p>\n

Where tunnels of love<\/p>\n

Are sung at uneven pitch<\/p>\n

And solid rock fills the brainwaves.<\/p>\n

Driving to nowhere<\/p>\n

And dancing the night away.<\/p>\n

2nd<\/sup>, 3rd<\/sup>, 2nd<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

An even thrill of flame and white noise<\/p>\n

The chatter of lodgers<\/p>\n

And chatter of otters.<\/p>\n

Simultaneously.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d go off the newsstands in a week if they printed the real truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

-Bob Dylan<\/p>\n

Adrienne Schmidt<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe mockingbird took a single step into the air and dropped. His wings were still folded against his sides as though he were singing from a limb and not falling, accelerating thirty-two feet per second per second, through empty air. Just a breath before he would have been dashed to the ground, he unfurled his wings with exact, deliberate care, revealing the broad bars of white, spread his elegant, white-banded tail, and so floated onto the grass. I had just rounded a corner when his insouciant step caught my eye; there was no one else in sight. The fact of his free fall was like the old philosophical conundrum about the tree that falls in the forest. The answer must be, I think, that beauty and grace are performed whether or not we will or sense them. The least we can do is try to be there.\u201d \u2013 Annie Dillard<\/a>, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Speech to the Young.<\/p>\n

Speech to the Progress-Toward.<\/p>\n

Say to them,<\/p>\n

say to the down-keepers,<\/p>\n

the sun-slappers,<\/p>\n

the self-soilers,<\/p>\n

the harmony-hushers,<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cEven if you are not ready for day<\/p>\n

it cannot always be night.\u201d<\/p>\n

You will be right.<\/p>\n

For that is the hard home-run.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Live not for battles won.<\/p>\n

Live not for the-end-of-the-song.<\/p>\n

Live in the along.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2014 Gwendolyn Brooks<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Favorite River Quotes (2016-17) \u201cAnyone who takes the time and effort to understand, to respect, and to love the James River will be rewarded a thousand times\u201d \u2013 David Ryan, The Fall of the James. \u201cWheresoever we landed upon this … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2963,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":6,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-325","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/james\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/james\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/james\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/james\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2963"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/james\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=325"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/james\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/325\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/james\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}