Desert Notes and River Notes: Stories Paperback – September 28, 2021

I read this book after a friend of mine who is a professor of poetry told me it was one of her favorite books. I was blown away by this collection of short stories and vignettes. Many of them are prose poems. I read the book slowly and thoughtfully over several months, a piece at a time. It is impossible to read in a hurry; it is too deep. Reading Desert Notes and River Notes made me want to hike all summer long, and just write... I am now reading Barry Lopez' whole canon. I also went to hear him speak. I think he is an enlightened human being. To the reviewer who compares him to Castaneda, I can't agree. There is no comparison -- for example, Lopez has a deep understanding of the dispossessed from many environments and walks of life, both human and animal. I would put Lopez' work into the collection of the Great Books, whether his famous Arctic Dreams or this shorter early exploratory book. I am saying this after having read thousands of works from Plato to Yeats, as well as extensive literature from other cultures and languages. Lopez has no boundaries of self; he hears and experiences the landscape in a way that teaches me to be a better human being.

Beautifully written.

I read both of these books many yrs. ago ... and find that the ideas contained within have deepened and ripened in meaning for me. Maybe it’s me that has “deepened and ripened” with the yrs. and I have now somewhat of an “altered” way of looking at things. Good book. Even though I had read it before, parts of it still silently sneak up on me.

This is one of most peaceful books I have ever read. Yet is it filled with tiny action of the desert and the river. I can hear the water flow over the river stones. I can watch the raven wait.As usual, Barry Lopez's way with words takes your breath away but the words also stop the reader in his/her tracks as the full meaning of patience and watchfulness is displayed. To stop and be immersed in a place is something few people in Western society take the time to do. This book is a guide to what might await us if we dare to sit and watch with extraordinary patience.

This book is so confusing. It was extremely hard to comprehend because of Lopez's interesting views of life and all the metaphors. I got this book for a class but I would never read it outside of school.

Vivid poetry and prose by a master craftsman. An absolute joy to read.

Thanks so much!

Read it in the desert, read it in the forest, read it in the city, read it in your bed, really just read it anywhere, just ready yourself to for a spiritual quest to the edge of what you think life is and can be.

Ho letto altri lavori di Barry Lopez, molto più coinvolgenti, e speravo di ripetere l'esperienza, ma non è andata così.