Overview

The American author, Annie Dillard, in her nonfiction narrative, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, published in 1974, addressed the topic of her adventures through a year in her hometown in Virginia’s Blue Ridge valley, and argues that the earth was made in incomprehensible earnest. She supports this claim by observing nature, then interacting with nature, and finally realizing how every small aspect of nature is as important as the next. Dillard’s purpose is to make people realize that it’s necessary to take everything in, and take advantage of every opportunity you get in order to truly appreciate what the universe has to offer. She adopts an inquisitive tone for her audience, the readers of Pilgrim at Tinker Creek and other interested in the topic of the way one can open their life through observing nature. 

 While the book was an immediate success, it didn't receive any academic notoriety until critics and other authors began associating Pilgrim at Tinker Creek and Dillard herself with the Transcendentalist movement-- especially with Henry David Thoreau and his piece, Walden. Many saw Thoreau in Dillard's peculiar meandering style of presentation in Tinker Creek, and in the almost religious way she reflected on everyday experiences in the outdoors. 

 Like the many of the books associated with the movement, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek helped accentuate the idea of "Nature" as a profound medium to deeper spiritual connections. The loss of self is still seen as an optimum, as a necessary way to "tune in" to the surroundings. However, this book introduces the idea that it is possible to connect to "Nature" despite, or even through, scientific evaluation and understanding. The book introduced the concept that one doesn't have to embrace nature at "face value" alone; it presented the idea that scientific discoveries don't inhibit our curiosity and concern for nature. Dillard embraces scientific concepts and this helped shape the reflections in her book-- a book that proves, that with greater understanding, comes a greater capability to admire the intricacies of the natural world.

 Sources

        "The Ecotheology of Annie Dillard: A Study in Ambivalence" by Pamela A. Smith.