Why writing matters

Here’s the paradox of Decade of the Wolf. Interesting story, tinged with the sense of wonder and amazement that so often hits us in the face when we actually get out into the wild – or what passes for wild these days. But the language gets in the way – it’s almost the pedestrian narrative style of Dick & Jane. This paragraph is about the best the book has to offer, but it plods when it should sing! Unfortunately, it is the writing itself that lies "heavy as a stone."

The fact that it’s become unusual for people to have any sort of regular dose of nature, let alone trading stares with wolves, leaves me acutely aware of how much the culture has lost. Gone from most people’s lives are the simple, wondrous prompts of nature, triggers that once sparked in us not just a sense of beauty, but the pleasures of place. Therein sits the weight, the burden of these times. And it lies heavy as a stone in the heart of even the richest life.