Nature, Culture, and Big Old Trees: Live Oaks and Ceibas in the Landscapes of Louisiana and Guatemala

Politics & Social Sciences

Anderson, Kit

Social Sciences

University of Texas Press

Big old trees inspire our respect and even affection. The poet Walt Whitman celebrated a Louisiana live oak that was solitary "in a wide flat space, / Uttering joyous leaves all its life without a friend a lover near." Groves and alleys of live oaks remain as distinctive landscape features on Louisiana's antebellum plantations, while massive individuals still cast their shade over churches, graveyards, parks, and roads. Cajuns have adopted the "Evangeline Oak" as one of their symbols. And the attachment that Louisianians feel for live oaks is equaled by that of Guatemalans for ceibas, the national tree of Guatemala. Long before Europeans came to the Americas, the ceiba, tallest of all native species, was the Mayan world tree, the center of the universe. Today, many ceibas remain as centers of Guatemalan towns, spreading their branches over the central plaza and marketplace.In this compelling book, Kit Anderson creates a vibrant portrait of the relationship between people and trees in Louisiana and Guatemala. Traveling in both regions, she examined and photographed many old live oaks and ceibas and collected the stories and symbolism that have grown up around them. She describes who planted the trees and why, how the trees have survived through many human generations, and the rich meanings they hold for people today. Anderson also recounts the natural history of live oaks and ceibas to show what human use of the landscape has meant for the trees. This broad perspective, blending cultural geography and natural history, adds a new dimension to our understanding of how big old trees and the places they help create become deeply meaningful, even sacred, for human beings.

Kemper & The West Egg Gun Club

Literature & Fiction

Humor & Satire

Independently published

<p>Five Kurdish sisters raised in a traditional mountain village are forced from their home by war. Two join the guerilla forces fighting for their national identity. One of them survives to emigrate to America, where she helps to establish a successful business. Two others make traditional marriages, but meet very different fates. One achieves security and status as a third wife, but the other is caught up in the wealthy society based on the drug trade. She is trapped in a spate of violent deaths. The youngest sister becomes a doctor and returns to her home in the east to help her people. Throughout their lives, their Kurdish values of courage, family honor, and fidelity to one another sustain the sisters as they struggle to survive in a rapidly changing world.</p>

Five Sisters: A Modern Novel of Kurdish Women

Genre Fiction

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

<p>From road trips to doctors' offices to the mysterious spaces under the house, Kit Anderson's short stories explore the secrets and magic typically unseen in everyday life. A walk through the forest, a family move, a day in a normal life - Anderson's depictions of these ordinary moments transform them with a double-take, revealing the strangeness, surreality, and transformation within. With powerful and personal emotional writing and art, thoughtfully combining magic and life as we all know it - these stories establish Kit Anderson as a presence in short comics-format fiction.</p>

Safer Places

Comics & Graphic Novels

Graphic Novels

Avery Hill Publishing

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Books by Anderson, Kit