November 15, 2011
Guest Host: Bill Frisch

Thanks to Bill, who did an “EcoLit” program for us meshing words and music. Bill focuses on Walden Pond and what is becoming of it in our time, with readings and music from a wide range of celebrity/social commentators.

Listen to the Program

Bill’s Program Notes:

Readings:

from Heaven Is Under Our Feet: A Book for Walden Woods.  Hardcover: 292 pages.  Publisher: Longmeadow Pr; 1st edition (October 1991)  ISBN-10: 068141129

Essays:

“Out Of Rot, All Good Things Cometh” by Bette Midler (about  composting)

“Progress, The G.N.P. And The Naming Of Things,” by Sting (about integrating native forest people into modern society)

Editorial Reviews:

From Publishers Weekly:

Some 40% of the land surrounding Walden Pond in Concord, Mass., is in private hands and open to development. Recently, the Brister’s Hill area has been threatened by an office building and Bear Garden Hill by condominiums. The Walden Woods Project, sparked by rock star Henley and fueled by rock journalist Marsh and other celebrities–entertainers, writers, political leaders and environmental activists–is making a determined effort to acquire these properties. The 67 essays offered here are contributions to the project; some refer specifically to Walden, others are on general environmental matters. Styles range from the elegant to the vernacular. This is a literary equivalent of the big benefit concert: we hear from Jesse Jackson, Garry Trudeau, Whoopi Goldberg, Louise Erdrich, Massachusetts senators Ted Kennedy and John Kerry, Meryl Streep, E. L. Doctorow and others. Thoreau would approve. First serial to Rolling Stone.  Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal:

The literary equivalent of a benefit concert, this collection comprises more than 65 essays by name entertainers, authors, politicians, and environmental activists. Edited by singer/songwriter Henley and rock writer/civil rights’ activist Marsh, it celebrates the dual themes of its literary/spiritual progenitor, Henry David Thoreau: respect for the earth and the pursuit of a moral center. It is also a fundraiser for the Walden Woods Project, a national nonprofit effort to acquire and preserve threatened portions of the 2,880-acre woods in which Thoreau did some of his most enduring communing. Despite the quality of many of the entries, their brevity and extreme variety limits the book’s appeal to the informed environmentalist. On the other hand, the same variety, plus the celebrity and/or accomplishment of the contributors, could give it great appeal as an introductory text.

– Linn Prentis, Milford, Pa.  Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Playlist:

“Mother Nature’s Son,” Sheryl Crow
“The Last Resort,” Eagles
“In the Beginning,” Mike Oldfield
“Only Time Will Tell,” Mike Oldfield
“I’d Love to Change the World,” Ten Years After
“Fragile,” Sting
“Take It Back,” Pink Floyd

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