Abbey, Edward (1927-1989)
Edward Abbey's essays and novels secured his position as a leading American environmentalist during the late 1960s through the 1980s. His nonconformist views, radical ...
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Edward Paul Abbey (1927 – 1989) American Environmentalist and Writer
Novelist, essayist, white-water rafter, and self-described "desert rat," Abbey wrote of the wonders and beauty...
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Edward Abbey's nickname might just as well have been "the Monkey Wrench" instead of "Cactus Ed." Abbey breathed new life into the Luddites' notorious sabotage of technology--their tossing wrenches int...
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Edward Abbey was one of the most important and most explicitly political American nature writers of the second half of the twentieth century. He, however, disliked the phrase "nature writing"; he pref...
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In the following essay, Bryant argues against the commonly held view of Abbey as an extremist.
When Edward Abbey visited my campus some years ago, I was curious to know what he was like. His public le...
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In the following essay, Mossman identifies principal traits of the American nature writing genre and places Abbey with this tradition.
The genre of nature writing in American literature is rich in tra...
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In the following essay, Twining explores the deeper, often critically neglected, philosophical complexity of Abbey's works.
As time goes on, it's becoming clearer that Edward Abbey...
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In the following essay, Norwick explores Abbey's understanding of Friedrich Nietzsche's thought in his works.
Most readers find many of Edward Abbey's images and statements intere...
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In the following essay, Rawlings surveys the essays in Coyote in the Maze, finding that the poststructuralist character of the pieces supports rather than undermines Abbey's work.
Alone, we are...
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In the following essay, Lucas argues that the popular images of Abbey and Henry David Thoreau distort their importance as protest writers.
Words on a page do not accomplish anything by themselves; but...
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In the following essay, Scheese identifies Abbey primarily as a cultural and social critic in the same vein as Henry David Thoreau.
Let your life be a counter friction to stop the machine.
—He...
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In the following essay, Loeffler offers a personal remembrance of Abbey's contribution to literature and environmentalism.
One time, Ed Abbey and I were talking about an upcoming election. Ed s...
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In the following essay, Knott examines the tension in Abbey's writing between his efforts to maintain a rational and concrete voice and his romanticism.
At the end of his introduction to The Jo...
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In the following essay, Metting examines the ways in which Abbey differs from earlier generations of American nature writers.
On the title page of Edward Abbey's 1979 collection of essays Abbey...
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In the following essay, Cahalan discusses how Abbey's Eastern roots—including his experiences in Appalachia—contributed to his identity as a Western writer.
Edward Abbey is part o...
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