What Kind of Writer is Dillard?

Many critics have tried and failed to give a name for Dillard’s writing, but truthfully, there is no way to sum up the incredible amount of material that Dillard has covered in her writing career.  Some people have tried using labels such as “nature writer” or “ecological, theological, or ecotheological writer” (Smith 343).  The most universal thing about Dillard’s copious texts is that she “wrestles with the essence of things” and comes away with things she has learned and applied to life (Brown-Davidson 1).
As far as nature is concerned, it “is not a blithe passage from winter to spring to summer to fall and to another winter” for Dillard (Smith 351).  Instead she becomes a part of her natural world, and makes her observations from there.  This blending of self into nature also shows that “the enriching power of solitude is another concern of Dillard’s” (Brown-Davidson 3).  Her careful observations are not simply seeing, but also a form of self-actualization.  Dillard embraces nature so that she may learn and discover things about her own life.   This is why it is impossible to deem Dillard simply as a nature writer, or an ecological writer.  Her connections add more to the page than observations do.
Another crucial reason Dillard is difficult to classify is because her writing focuses on so many themes.  She has discussed natural things such as the jungle, muskrats, weasels, and a total eclipse, but she has also talked about her idols, people, and her own writing.  Her personal experience is so important to her observations and through that technique she “manages to recreate with a fresh sense of discovery” (Brown-Davidson 4).   Dillard’s style cannot be described in any other way besides “Dillard”, as it is so crucial to her personal experience.

Works Cited:

Brown-Davidson, Terri. "'Choosing the Given with a Fierce and Pointed Will': Annie Dillard and Risk-Taking in Contemporary Literature". The Hollins Critic: 30.2 (1993 Apr.), pp. 1-10. 28 May 2013.

Smith, Pamela A. "The Ecotheology Of Annie Dillard: A Study In Ambivalence." Cross Currents 45.3 (1995): 341. Web. 28 May 2013.

Passage- "The Stunt Pilot"

Dillard, Annie. "The Stunt Pilot." Ten on Ten: Major Essayists on Recurring Themes. Ed. Robert Atwan. Boston: Bedford of St. Martin's, 1992. 115-25. Print.

(1)The air show announcer hushed.  (2)He had been squawking all day, and now he quit.  (3)The crowd stilled.  (4)Even the children watched dumbstruck as the slow, black biplane buzzed its way around the air.  (5)Rahm made beauty with his whole body; it was pure pattern, and you could watch it happen.  (6)The plane moved every way a line can move, and it controlled three dimensions, so the line carved massive and subtle slits in the air like sculptures. (7)The plane looped the loop, seeming to arch its back like a gymnast; it stalled, dropped, and spun out of it climbing; it spiraled and knifed west on one side’s wings and back east on another; it turned cartwheels, which must be physically impossible; it played with its own line like a cat with yarn.  (8)How did the pilot know where in the air he was? (9) If he got lost, the ground would swat him.

Passage Analysis of Dillard's "The Stunt Pilot"

In the essay “The Stunt Pilot” written by Annie Dillard, Dave Rahm’s air shows are described, and his inspiration to Annie Dillard is expressed.  In the seventh paragraph, Dillard describes the moment where his air show begins.  This passage is very close to the beginning of the essay and describes the moment she was struck with inspiration from his skill and relates it to artistic ability.  In typical Dillard style, she describes the moment as an observer in this moment, and later in the essay, continues to contribute meaning to this impactful scene. 

                  The artistic diction featured in this passage, emphasizes how Dillard feels about Rahm’s skill.  She states that he “made beauty with his whole body”.  The movements of his plane move “everyway a line can move, and it controlled three dimensions”.  Dillard sees the air show as an artistic manipulation of the plane, rather than a stunt.  The plane also creates “subtle slits in the air like sculptures” and is compared to a “gymnast” doing “cartwheels”.  All of this diction recreates the visions Dillard saw, that inspired her so much.  It is an example of her observation which she later develops into a meaningful application of life.

                  Dillard’s use of similes is also frequent in the passage.  By comparing the plane’s movements to so many different things, the reader gets a sense of how much more could be taken from the air show.   The plane “carved massive and subtle slits in the air like sculptures” which reveals how graceful the plane’s movements were.  Dillard also states that the plane’s looping arched its back “like a gymnast”.   Comparing the movements to a gymnast also gives a sense of gracefulness, but it is also interesting because it relates the movements to flexibility and ease, which is impossible for a fixed and structured machine.  The last simile Dillard uses is that the plane “played with its own line like a cat with yarn”.  This gives the entire show a sense of playfulness and ease that make the movements seem effortless.  However, all of these similes are used to describe the absolute skill and talent of Rahm.  His gracefulness, flexibility, and easy playfulness are obviously difficult traits to manage when flying in an air show, and Dillard is showing her appreciation of these skills.

                  In the passage’s longest sentence, sentence seven, parallelism is heftily relied on.  After each simile in this sentence, Dillard follows with an impendent clause, all linked together through semi-colons.  This extremely long sentence seems to create an effect of holding one’s breath.  The semi-colons provide pauses, where more action is taking place.  However, throughout the entire sentence, Dillard is unable to stop watching or describing the incredible event.   As the audience watches the plane, “it stalled”, “it spiraled and knifed”, “it turned cartwheels”, and “it played with its own line”.  All of these actions are reasons for why Dillard can’t end her sentence, because the plane keeps her surprised and watching. 

                  The organization of the paragraph is set up so that Dillard can introduce the moment.  She begins with the sentences “The air show announcer hushed” and “the crowd stilled” so the reader recognizes this is a moment to pay attention to.  The shortness of these sentences also reveal the anticipation that the crowd and herself were feeling.   The rest of the paragraph is the description of her own observations, and ends with “How did the pilot know where in the air he was? If he got lost, the ground would swat him”.  These ending phrases once again reaffirm her amazement she has for Rahm.  The last phrase also addresses her awareness that he is doing something dangerous, which reaffirms her awe for all of his artistic actions.

                  This passage is a perfect representation of how Dillard stylizes her essays.  She begins with her own observations, and tangles them into a web of realizations and life lessons that she reaches by the end of her essay.  In this passage Dillard’s acute sense of observation is evident, and leads to the beginning of her conclusions from this inspiring moment.  

Works Cited:
Dillard, Annie. "The Stunt Pilot." Ten on Ten: Major Essayists on Recurring Themes. Ed. Robert Atwan. Boston: Bedford of St. Martin's, 1992. 115-25. Print.

Photos

"I am no scientist, but a poet and a walker with a background in theology and a penchant for quirky facts"
-Annie Dillard

Is Dillard a transcendentalist?

Annie Dillard has a notorious reputation as a nature writer.  This title also leads to the idea that Dillard follows the style of transcendentalism.  This belief comes from the fact that Dillard’s writing typically “watches the details of her natural environment with a sense of amazement and is overwhelmed with the lessons which nature can teach her” (Reimer 184).  However, Dillard’s “preoccupation is more personal, less inclined to make final statements about the human and social order” (Reimer 186).   Rather than focusing completely on the elements of nature, Dillard is a natural observer who takes away important realizations and lessons from her experiences.

            While Dillard often writes essays that focus on nature and the description of an environment, the connections she creates are less universal and much more personally based.  Another difference is that Dillard almost never references other literary writers, and instead focuses “her attention almost completely on the observations of scientists and biblical writers” (Reimer 184).  Rather than criticize the corruptions that men run into when they stray from nature, Dillard focuses her attention simply on what can be learned from nature.  Her personal observations are at the heart of her works, and the conclusions she draws form the meaning she intends.  

Works Cited:

Reimer, Margaret Loewen. "The Dialectical Vision Of Annie Dillard's Pilgrim At Tinker Creek." Critique 24.3 (1983): 182. Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 May 2013.

Dillard's Readings on National Public Radio

Annie Dillard featured on National Public Radio!


Tale of Bohemian Love by the Sea

This radio interview is Dillard discussing some of her style techniques, specifically for her novel, "The Maytrees".  She talks about concision and how she often tries to replace a two-syllable word for a one-syllable word to get the effect she desires.  She has learned to take out everything other than the meaning she wants to display.  In other words she wants her writing to be "clean as a whistle".   As far as techniques for writing, she says to slow down and think.  "A story should be simplified and enlarged".

In this interview, Dillard also admits that she can not write anymore.  In her aging, she can no longer write with her fingers.  She also feels that as a writer, "The Maytrees" was her "great story", and she can not top it.  It also took her ten years to write, and "nearly killed" her.

The Maytrees

This passage is from Annie Dillard's novel "The Maytrees".  In this reading Dillard's nature theme is prevalent.  However, through her descriptions of nature, a deeper thought is usually located just as in this passage.  Dillard ends with the description of a "wad of air" which is very characteristic of her.  She often uses uncharacteristic descriptive phrases such as "wad of" to create fantastic imagery.


Dots in Blue Water

In this essay, Annie Dillard discusses the Tsunami that hit Bangladesh on April 30, 1991 killing over 138,000 people.  She opens with a conversation with her young daughter, who says that it is easy to imagine this tragedy if you think about the people as "blue dots".  Dillard plays with this idea discussing the fact that people neglect the idea of starving people in Haiti when they are scarfing down a meal.  The people are just blue dots.  However she comes to the conclusion that despite this, people ultimately try to save the blue dots whether they can see them or not.  In Dillard's typical style, she takes a moment and comes away with revelations and life lessons.


Dillard Quote:
“How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” 
― Annie Dillard

Dillard's Paintings

Blackfish Creek

Four Flaming Monopods

My Virginia Cabin

The Road to Emmaus

Dillard Quote:
“I think it would be well, and proper, and obedient, and pure, to grasp your one necessity and not let it go, to dangle from it limp wherever it takes you.”
― Annie Dillard

Photographs taken from:
http://www.galleryongreene.com/AnnieDillard.html

Passage- "Stalking"

Dillard, Annie. "Stalking." Ten on Ten: Major Essayists on Recurring Themes. Ed. Robert Atwan. Boston: Bedford of St. Martin's, 1992. N. pag. Print.

(1) Now the moment a muskrat’s eyes disappear from view under a bride, I go into action.  (2) I have about five seconds to switch myself around so that I will be able to see him very well when he emerges on the other side of the bridge.  (3) I can easily hang my head over the other side of the bridge, so that when he appears from under me, I will be able to count his eyelashes if I want. (4) The trouble with this maneuver is that, once his beady eyes appear again on the other side. (5) I am stuck.  (6) If I move again, the show is over for the evening. (7) I have to remain in whatever insane position I happen to be caught, for as long as I am in his sight, so that I stiffen all my muscles, bruise my ankles on the concrete, and burn my fingers on the cigarette. (8) And if the muskrat goes out on a bank to feed, there I am with my face hanging a foot over the water, unable to see anything but crayfish. (9)  So I have learned to take it easy on these five-second flings.

Passage Analysis of Dillard's 'Stalking'

In the essay “Stalking” Annie Dillard describes her adventurous and obsessive observation of muskrats and their interesting behaviors.  The sixteenth paragraph in section two of the essay is almost directly in the middle, and leads to the rising action of the essay. It captures the anticipation felt before finally seeing the muskrat.   This particular passage represents Dillard’s style as she combines the topics of nature with her clear sense of observation and instruction.  
Dillard’s use of diction in the passage highlights the seriousness she takes in her muskrat stalking.  She describes her quick movements as a “maneuver” which shows the professional nature she assumes in this task.  She also states she may end her up in some sort of “insane position” that might “stiffen all [her] muscles, bruise [her] ankles on the concrete, and burn [her] fingers on the cigarette”.  Her willingness to land in this “insane” state reveals her dedication to observing the muskrats, as she is entirely ready to remain stuck in a painful and fixed position.  Dillard also uses very visual diction.  The words “appear”, “disappear”, “view”, “emerges”, “eyes”, “appears”, “show”, “sight”, and “see” are all used throughout the passage.  These words highlight the struggle Dillard is going through, which is actually spotting the muskrat.
Most of the sentences in the passage are roughly the same length with the exception of sentence five and seven.  Sentence four is abruptly stopped by a period before becoming a complete sentence.  Sentence five is the very short sentence which follows this.  Dillard states “once his beady eyes appear again on the other side. I am stuck”.  The period in the incomplete sentence represents what Dillard is trying to put across.  If the muskrat emerges from the water, she is stuck in her incomplete position even if she has not completed her “maneuver”.  The short sentence five highlights the quickness that she must have.  Contrarily, sentence seven ends with an incomplete parallel clause.  This could be Dillard’s way of communicating that all of these painful things could happen to her, if she does not complete her “maneuver” by the time the muskrat appears.  
Sentence two begins a string of adverb clauses containing the word “that”.  The use of the adverb clauses gives the essay a very instructional feel and is always followed by a detailed explanation from Dillard, such as “so that I will be able to see him very well”.  Sentence three, four, and seven also feature these clauses.  Dillard also uses copious verbal phrases.  The verbal phrases emphasize how important her actions are in this endeavor.  It is a completely physical moment that she is describing and the infinitive verbal phrases “to switch”, “to count”, “to be caught”, “to see”, and “to take” show how many actions she must complete in her “five-second flings”. 
Many metaphors that Dillard uses are also present to describe her observation techniques.  She refers her muskrat observing as a “show” which shows just how entertaining this small animal is to her.  As far as her technique, she refers to it as both a “maneuver” and a “five-second fling”.  “Maneuver” shows the serious of the technicality, while “fling” seems to suggest a lack of physical control.  These two metaphors contradict somewhat revealing that Dillard finds this situation both serious, and perhaps a little silly. 
The organization of the paragraph is also very instructional. The beginning of every sentence is typically followed by a reason or specific instruction.  Sentence one for examples is “Now the moment a muskrat’s eyes disappear from view under a bridge, I go into action”.  Dillard describes not only the moment or situation she is, but also her physical response, which adds to the instructional nature element of her essay. In the last senctence, Dillard says she herself has "learned to take it easy on these five-second flings”, which highlights the fact that Dillard has learned from her own instructions.  
Dillard’s instructional writing is very key in her style.  Dillard often makes her personal observations and relates it back to lessons she has learned.  In this way, her essays become very personal.  

Works Referenced: 

 Dillard, Annie. "Stalking." Ten on Ten: Major Essayists on Recurring Themes. Ed. Robert Atwan. Boston: Bedford of St. Martin's, 1992. N. pag. Print.

Short Biography of Annie Dillard

Annie Dillard was born April 30, 1945 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  She developed her interests young and as a child she took painting classes, was constantly exploring, and loved to read books.  She lived in Pittsburgh until college where she attended Hollins College in Roanoke, Virginia.
In 1968 she graduated from school, and began to spend her time writing.  It was only six years later that her Pulitzer Prize winning nonfiction narrative, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek was published.  Since then Annie Dillard has published many more works including poems, essays, novels, and  her own memoir.  Annie Dillard's last novel, The Maytrees, was published in 2007 and since then she has hidden from the public light, admitting that she can no longer write.


Dillard Quote:
“There is no shortage of good days. It is good lives that are hard to come by. A life of good days lived in the senses is not enough. The life of sensation is the life of greed; it requires more and more. The life of the spirit requires less and less; time is ample and its passage sweet. Who would call a day spent reading a good day? But a life spent reading -- that is a good life.”
― Annie Dillard, The Writing Life

For a more in depth biography, visit:
http://www.anniedillard.com/biography-by-bob-richardson.html

This biography was written by Dillard's husband, Bob Richardson.