My Favorite Plant: Writers and Gardeners on the Plants They Love | 
 enlarge | Creator: Jamaica Kincaid
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Category: Book
List Price: $20.00
Buy New: $2.45
You Save: $17.55 (88%)
New (18) Used (28) Collectible (2) from $0.79
Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 422903
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 329
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 5.9 x 4.8 x 1.3
ISBN: 0374281939
Dewey Decimal Number: 635
EAN: 9780374281939
ASIN: 0374281939
Publication Date: November 1, 1998
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
| |
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Review
This anthology edited by novelist Jamaica Kincaid is a fascinatingly quirky compilation of writings about plants by the people who love them. Some are exceedingly practical--Ken Druse's essay "Desire Under the Jacks" gives you all the information you need to grow Arisaema triphyllum from seed--while others are more lyrical, such as Colette's writings on lilies and hellebores, and the poetry scattered among the essays. Like a magazine, there are pages you may skip over because you find the subject or style doesn't appeal to you, only to find yourself riveted by the next piece of writing, which awakens in you a lust to own a plant, the existence of which you were unaware of a few minutes earlier. The very best writing opens your eyes to something new: an experience, an object, a place, or in this instance, a plant. Every type of gardener, novice, expert, or dreamer will find such writings within these pages. With its compact format, this is a book that can be slipped into the pocket and dipped into in those moments that become available between life's many activities, or put next to a guest bed for the enjoyment of visitors. The idiosyncratic typeface may not appeal at first, but you will get used to it. --Stephanie Donaldson
Product Description
A delightful compendium of writing on plants.
The passion for gardening and the passion for words come together in this inspired anthology, a collection of essays on topics as diverse as beans and roses, by writers who garden and by gardeners who write. Among the contributors are Christopher Lloyd, on poppies; Marina Warner, who remembers the Guinee rose; and Henri Cole, who offers poems on the bearded iris and on peonies. There is also an explanation of the sexiness of castor beans from Michael Pollan and an essay from Maxine Kumin on how, as Henry David Thoreau put it, one "[makes] the earth say beans instead of grass." Most of the essays are new in print, but Colette, Katharine S. White, D. H. Lawrence, and several other old favorites make appearances. Jamaica Kincaid, the much-admired writer and a passionate gardener herself, rounds up this diverse crew. A wonderful gift for green thumbs, My Favorite Plant is a happy collection of fresh takes on old friends.
Other contributors include:
Hilton Als
Mary Keen
Ken Druse
Duane Michals
Michael Fox
David Raffeld
Ian Frazier
Graham Stuart Thomas
Daniel Hinkley
Wayne Winterrowd
|
| Customer Reviews:
Ringworm? And gardening? Not quite getting this! December 29, 2000
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I was very pleased with this book, which is why I went out and bought the other Jamaica Kincaid gardening related book. This would be a lovely gift for a keen gardener, particularly in winter, when one can only dream about the garden. The essays were mainly interesting and informative - some were funny and poignant. The ones that wrote about their actual favourite plant were the best - the ones that went off on 'frolics of their own' just didnt cut it, but these were few, and probably added for unecessary 'colour' and 'arty-fartyness'! The paeony and meconopsis ones are my favourites.
 A glowing "diary" by famous authors and prominent gardeners. November 17, 1999
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
Every gardener has a favorite plant and is anxious to share plants and stories with others. Some of these essays are filled with technical information, others are lyrical musings on the esthetic of plants. Either way, this is a book to cuddle up with and to cherish. It's also a perfect special occasion gift for other gardeners.
 uneven in level of interest to the average gardener November 11, 1998
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
Overall, the gardeners who wrote about their favorite plants were more interesting to read than most of the other authors. The selection that dealt with ringworm was especially out of place (what on earth did THAT have to do with plants?). The essay on plant collecting was great, though, and Tony Avent's short essay on hostas almost makes me like them. Almost. And you have to like a book that has an essay on Meconopsis. I liked exactly 50% of this book.
|
|
|
