Earth Memories

In this charming collection of short essays, Powys (1884%E2%80%931939) returns to the English countryside of his childhood and explores its wildlife and his past with sharp insight and moving lyricism. In 1909, Powys was diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis and moved to a Swiss sanitorium. In 1931, after two decades of travel, he returned to his home region of Dorset County and wrote the pieces collected here. They reveal a keen observer of the natural world, whether he is marveling at the design of a hedgehog, spying on two butterflies mating, or describing an encounter with a seabird that fell victim to an oil spill. His polished prose can occasionally become mannered, but Powys shows an ability to evoke nostalgia without sentimentality. His work might strike some contemporary readers as old-fashioned, but it also has continuing relevance as a celebration of nature's wonder and a gentle reminder of the joys of being alive. "Nothing is of consequence," he writes, "but the fugitive fulfillment of each separate existence which has had the good fortune to be called, even for a few moments, into the light of the sun." (Sept.)