---
title: "Nature writing"
chunk: 2/2
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nature_writing"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T03:46:54.821129+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

== 20th century to date ==
The second half of the 20th century saw a significant increase in nature writing in fiction and non-fiction in Britain. One of the earliest of these works was John Moore (1907–1967), a best-selling pioneer conservationist. Writing from the 1930s to 1960s, he was described by Sir Compton Mackenzie as the most talented writer about the countryside of his generation. Moore's contemporaries included Henry Williamson (1895–1977), best known for Tarka the Otter, whose imaginative prose won him the Hawthornden Prize in 1928. Other 20th century writers included American authors Edward Abbey (1927–1989), Aldo Leopold (1887–1948) and Indian author M. Krishnan (1912–1996).
After World War II, other writers emerged including English teacher and naturalist Margaret Hutchinson (1904–1997), who strongly advocated for raising children as naturalists from an early age. American author Rachel Carson (1907–1964) is known for Silent Spring, published in 1962. Carson heralded a new and pointed style of nature writing that carried stronger warnings of environmental loss as pesticide use in industrial agriculture became an increasing concern after World War II.
Relevant contemporary nature writers in Britain include Richard Mabey, Roger Deakin, Mark Cocker, and Oliver Rackham. Rackham's books included Ancient Woodland (1980) and The History of the Countryside (1986). Richard Mabey has been involved with radio and television programmes on nature, and his book Nature Cure, describes his experiences and recovery from depression in the context of man's relationship with landscape and nature. He has also edited and introduced editions of Richard Jefferies, Gilbert White, Flora Thompson and Peter Matthiessen. Mark Cocker has written extensively for British newspapers and magazines and his books include Birds Britannica (with Richard Mabey) (2005). and Crow Country (2007). He frequently writes about modern responses to the wild, whether found in landscape, human societies or in other species. Roger Deakin was an English writer, documentary-maker and environmentalist. In 1999, Deakin's acclaimed book Waterlog was published. Inspired in part by the short story The Swimmer by John Cheever, it describes his experiences of 'wild swimming' in Britain's rivers and lakes and advocates open access to the countryside and waterways. Deakin's book Wildwood appeared posthumously in 2007. It describes a series of journeys across the globe that Deakin made to meet people whose lives are intimately connected to trees and wood.
German contributions to nature writing include German author Peter Wohlleben's book The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate. Published in 2016, it was translated from German into English and subsequently became a New York Times Bestseller. In 2017, the German book publishing company Matthes & Seitz Berlin began to grant the German Award for Nature Writing, an annual literary award for German writers who fulfill criteria within nature writing as a literary genre. It comes with a prize of 10,000 euro and an additional artist in residency grant of six weeks at the International Academy for Nature Conservation of Germany in Vilm. In 2018, the British Council offered an education bursary and workshop opportunities to six young German authors deemed to be dedicated to nature writing.
American poet Mary Oliver found inspiration for her work in nature and had a lifelong habit of solitary walks in the wild. Her poetry is characterized by wonderment at the natural environment.

== See also ==
Ecofiction
List of environmental books
Nature
Natural history
Outdoor literature

== References ==

== Further reading ==
Finch, Robert, and John Elder, eds. The Norton Book of Nature Writing. New York: Norton, 1990; Nature writing: the tradition in English. edited by Robert Finch and John Elder. New York: W.W. Norton, c2002. This book is an all encompassing guide and encyclopedia of 200 years of nature writing.
Keith,  W. J., The Rural Tradition: William Cobbett, Gilbert White, and Other Non-Fiction Writers of the English Countryside. Hassocks, Sussex: Harvester, 1975. This book has a useful bibliography. In addition, this book goes over specific parts of nature writing, including landscape, pastoral and country life literature.
Lyon, Thomas J., ed. This Incomparable Land: A Book of American Nature Writing. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1989. This book is an introduction guide to the genre. It goes over the vastness of the genre and American writing within the genre.
Lillard, Richard G. (April 1973). "The Nature Book in Action". The English Journal. 62 (4). National Council of Teachers of English: 537–48. doi:10.2307/813109. JSTOR 813109. This textbook styled book mainly consists of the history behind nature writing.
Mabey, Richard, The Oxford Book of Nature Writing. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995. This piece also goes over the magnitude of this genre and presents essays from varying nature authors.
Stewart, Frank, A Natural History of Nature Writing. Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 1994. This books concentrates on the origins of American nature writing.
Trimble, Stephen, "Words From the Land: Encounters with Natural History Writing". Reno: University of Nevada Press, 1995 (revised edition). ISBN 978-0874172645. This book is a representative collection of essays which goes over the contemporary part of nature writing.

== External links ==
William Bartram's early Southern travels (archived 25 July 2011)
Audubon's Birds of America at the U. of Pittsburgh
Audubon, John James (1843). Birds of America. Vol. 6. New York: J. J. Audubon.
Land Lines: British Nature Writing, 1789–2014 (AHRC funded research project exploring British nature writing from the late eighteenth century to the present).