Author Archives:

Self-Reliance Revisited: Why Does the Slave Embrace His Chains?

We Have Followed Too Much the Devices…

Self-Reliance Revisited: Why Does the Slave Embrace His Chains?

Having explored the downsides of bucket lists in an earlier article and then waded into the murky waters of device-driven commercial media last week, Farwell now turns his attention to the devices themselves—and to the effect they’re having on how we experience our world. Do you think this doesn’t have anything to do with canoeing? Well, you couldn’t be more wrong. That’s Farwell’s notion, anyway. Why not see what you think?
______________________________

by Farwell Forrest | February 16, 2018

I don’t suppose that anyone reads Emerson anymore. I know I don’t. No, that’s not true. I didn’t. But I do now. And only now do I realize what I’ve been missing. My belated foray into the thickets of Transcendentalist literature began prosaically enough. I was chasing down the source of a quote I’d seen in The Complete Walker, and the search took me to one of Emerson’s most celebrated essays: “Self-Reliance.” I found the quote I was seeking in short order, but I also found a lot more—an exhaustive, eye-opening discourse on the worm that lurks in the apple (or should that be “the … Read more »

Devices and Desires

Have I Got a Tweet for You!

Devices and Desires

Last week Farwell promised he’d take a closer look at devices — the smartphones and tablets that have become essential props in our day-to-day lives, on and off the water. Are they really the “fetters on free spirits” that he suggested? Or has he got it wrong? Read his latest column and see what you think. But be warned: This is much longer than your typical tweet.
______________________________

by Farwell Forrest | February 9, 2018
Though originally scheduled for publication on July 25, 2017, this ended up on the spike. Now it’s gone feral.

Not too long ago, in another place, I had occasion to mention a book with an unlikely title: The Man Who Loved Bicycles. It was written by Daniel Behrman, and yes, I did more than “mention” it. I praised it to the skies — like the author was my dead brother, to borrow a line from Stewart Pearson. I also tried to explain why a book about one man’s love of bicycles might interest canoeists. I may or may not have succeeded in this endeavor, but I didn’t see any harm in trying. In any case, I … Read more »

Kicking the Bucket List: In Praise of Serendipity

Kicking the Bucket List

In Praise of Serendipity

Many blogs and websites now showcase bucket lists. They’re as important to the modern traveler as his smartphone. But is this a good thing? Last week, Farwell weighed up the bucket list’s destructive potential. And this week? With a little help from the princes of Serendip, he’s digging deeper.
______________________________

by Farwell Forrest | February 2, 2018
Originally published in somewhat different form on July 18, 2017

Bucket lists are all the rage these days, touted by legions of bloggers and countless chambers of commerce. The former are probably in the game for the notoriety: “Hey, guys, I just got back from checking out the seals on Elephant Island. That was Number 125 on my list. Awesome!” The chambers of commerce aren’t into bragging rights, however. As you’d expect, they have their eyes fixed firmly on the bottom line, and any list of must‑see attractions is tailor‑made to lure ever larger flocks of sheep to the shearing pen.

What’s not to like? Bucket lists bring clicks to bloggers who’d otherwise have nothing to say and tourist dollars to rural communities with little left to sell but scenery. So why am I not a fan? Well, there’s more to … Read more »

Kicking the Bucket List

A Declaration of Independence

Kicking the Bucket List

As flash mobs assemble on lonely summits and “binge hiking” enters the working newshound’s vocabulary, it’s time to take a closer look at the bucket list. Is it a benign phenomenon, just the latest New Big Thing to engage the attention of a networked nation desperately seeking diversion? Or is it something else — a final breach in the last wall protecting wild places, say? Farwell opts for the latter alternative. And today he makes his case.
______________________________

by Farwell Forrest | January 26, 2018
Originally published, in somewhat different form, on July 4, 2017

I‘ll be the first to admit that Oscar Wilde isn’t one of my favorite authors. A flamboyant egoist, he epitomized camp a century before camp was cool, and his personal life was a tortured, untidy muddle that ended in tragedy. But I can’t deny that he had a way with words. And when, in reading “The Critic as Artist” for the first time not so very long ago, I came across Wilde’s plaint that “the old roads and dusty highways have been traversed too often[, and] their charm has been worn away by plodding feet,” my thoughts turned immediately to … Read more »