NATURE’S NEW VOICES edited by John...

NATURE’S NEW VOICES edited by John A. Murray (Fulcrum Publishing: $15.95; 242 pp., paperback original). In recent years, the nature essay has been accorded the status of literary genre, and John Murray’s engaging anthology demonstrates that a talented group of young writers is continuing to develop the genre. Their often compelling pieces blend scientific observation with personal reflection to evoke the human response to biological and ecological concerns. Dan O’Brien offers a moving account of training a wounded peregrine falcon to hunt for itself, while David Rains Wallace shares his delight in watching spring awaken the flora and fauna of an Ohio forest. In an essay that sets the tone for much of the collection, John Daniel argues that Americans need to rethink their approach to the natural world: “When we go into nature we expect the things we see to reveal themselves, to tender their full value merely by our laying our eyes on them. And to the extent to which nature seems static and dramatically blank compared to TV entertainment, it is likely to seem disappointing, lifeless and unreal.”