Nature and Other Writings (Shambhala Library)

About this book

"The mind of Emerson " literary critic Harold Bloom once wrote "is the mind of America." Indeed Ralph Waldo Emersons essays contain some of the most memorable and important expressions of American thought. Generations of readers have been stirred by Emersons ideal of self-reliance and his vision of nature as a manifestation of the divine spirit has profoundly influenced American naturalists and environmentalists from Thoreaus time to the present. Poets as diverse as Emily Dickinson Robert Frost and Allen Ginsberg were inspired by the transcendental flavor of Emersons work. This volume brings together selections from Emersons best-loved writings particularly drawing upon his early work which is some of his most poignant. Included are excerpts from Nature the famous "Divinity School Address " "Self-Reliance " "The Over-Soul " "Compensation " "Spiritual Laws " "The Poet " and "Circles." Several of his most moving poems appear here as well.