“I for one am with thee, and who knows hat may avail a crowbar against Billerica dam”
––Henry David Thoreau, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers (1849)
“One man alone can be pretty dumb sometimes, but for real bona fide stupidity, there ain’t nothing can beat teamwork.”
––Seldom Seen Smith, The Monkey Wrench Gang
“Because somebody has to do it, that’s why.”
––Hayduke
When you are waist (or chest) deep in the novel, do consider some of the commentary on Edward Abbey (Cactus Ed) as a writer so that you are more aware of his place in the history of North American environmental writing. You will want to know about his nonfiction account of his time in the desert Southwest, Desert Solitaire (a book that I hope you will seek out and read).
In A Few Words in Favor of Ed Abbey, written in 1985, Wendell Berry offers an assessment of Abbey as a writer. His commentary outlines some of the reasons why Cactus Ed continues to be a pain in the neck for many of his readers.
For a broad overview you can turn to Bryan L. Moore’s essay in the Dictionary of Literary Biography (Twentieth-Century American Nature Writers: Prose). Eds. Roger Thompson and J. Scott Bryson. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 275. Detroit: Gale, 2003. 3-21. Edward Abbey (29 January 1927-14 March 1989).
There is also an engaging 2006 Commentary on Edward Abbey by Philip Connors, editor of the New West Reader published in Salon, Where have you gone, Edward Abbey?
