The Singing Wilderness

The Singing Wilderness





作者：Sigurd F. Olson
原文作者：Sigurd F. Olson
譯者：李永平
出版社：先覺


If you are a nature lover, then you will like this book.

“The Singing Wilderness” is a series of essay on the north woods
country written half a century ago by Sigurd Olson, a nature writer
and activist. It was published in 1957. He told his story through
descriptions of the simple events in nature that brought meaning to
his life, such as picking berries, looking for pine knots, fly-fishing,
hiking through the forest, paddling a canoe,……. . The book is divided
into four parts with the individual chapter being categorized the four
seasons.

He believed nature did have healing properties and getting out in
nature was his cure for what ailed modern man’s soul, as he stated
“The singing wilderness is an essential antidote to the trials of
modern life”

In his introduction to “The Singing Wilderness”, Olson stated:
“The singing wilderness has to do with the calling of the loons,
northern lights, and the great silences of a land lying northwest of
Lake Superior." He wrote: "It is concerned with the simple joys,
the timelessness and perspective found in a way of life that is close
to the past.I have heard the singing in many places, but I seem to
hear it best in the wilderness."

李永平, a college English teacher and writer in Taiwan, had captured
the spirit of Olson’s work and translated this book into Chinese. The
book, entitled "大自然在唱歌 “ , was published by 先覺出版社 in 1999.
There was also a nice introduction of the book:

" 梭羅說：「原野是人類的救贖。」

現代人久居城市，感官不斷遭受電視和收音機的侵擾。每逢週末，
惶惶然擠在車隊人潮中，出城尋找大自然。然而聽慣火車轟隆、飛
機呼嘯的我們，不知不覺早已忘記去傾聽大自然歌唱；往往找到的
不是鳥叫蟲鳴，而是小販叫賣的廣播聲，高空彈跳的驚嚇聲。

我們忘了，尋找大自然，要深入大自然，聽大自然唱歌。自然天籟，
四季不同：曉霧迷離的春天，滿山啼鳥；雨過天青的夏日，激瀑飛
濺，湍流急淌；天高氣爽的秋日，長空萬里，候鳥遷徙；星垂四野
的冬天，萬籟俱寂；各有其趣。

我們不見得要像奧爾森，肩扛獨木舟，或是腳踏雪屐，才能聽到大
自然的天籟。只要背上行囊，進入原野，我們一樣可以順流蕩舟，
看水清草長；臨溪垂釣，聽魚躍蟬鳴；露宿礦野，煮一壺茶，烹一
尾剛釣上來的肥魚，聽營火熊熊，霹哩啪啦；也可以登高眺遠，看
日出月升；覓徑攀崖，聽葉落花開；蓆地枕天，聽雨打帳篷，叮叮
咚咚。

一年四季，原野引吭高歌，就像從太古時期傳出來的一聲聲回音。
只有靜下心來聆聽，才能除心靈的空虛，找到生命的真義；而不會
迷失在人聲市囂之中。"

Both the original (English) and the translated (Chinese) books are
an addition to any nature lover’s bookshelf. While reading through
the chapters, you would feel like he is taking you on his adventures.

Yeh Tze