Northern Passages : Reflections from Lake Superior Country

Rating:
Summary: The one word that sums up this collection is "timelessness".
Review: Each of these essays slows down time while fishing for steelhead, condenses time in a Lake Superior fall bird migration, turns on the time-lapse camera of glacial time and rekindles the time-suspended fun of playing in the waves. Van Stappen's naturalist eye and poetic style draws his reader in. A writer for Wisconsin Outdoor Journal and 1996 Pippistrelle Best of the Small Press Winner, Van Stappen's collection of Lake Superior essays puts this achievement in the osprey's nest: high above and easy to spot. In his essay about blueberry picking, his dry wit can be found: "After all, our opposable thumb and forefinger didn't develop just to flick coins into vending machines. We were berry pickers before we were tool users and are still berry pickers today." Each essay is also accentuated with paintings by Kate Wright. Wright is obviously inspired by Van Stappen's writing. The paintings interact superbly with each essay. In his essay, "Ephemeral Like Clouds", Van Stappen writes about clouds of mayflies (Aurora ephemeralis) appearing everywhere in his hometown, Washburn. He writes, "They didn't spread themselves evenly like some insectile fog, but instead clustered in discrete, cloud-like swarms resembling miniature thunderstorms. Within each swarm there was a continuous circulation of mayflies rising and falling as if in updrafts and downdrafts." Wright's painting depicts the whirligig desires of mayflies, flocking to a lit cabin window. Hunters, birdwatchers, cabin owners, and fishermen will love this book. Vacationers heading for Northern Wisconsin and Lake Superior can enhance their trips with it. Residents of the region will find these essays a warming balm in the long winter nights. With it's sense of timelessness, "Northern Passages", will hopefully make it into the shelves of libraries and family favorites.

Rating:
Summary: On being one with Nature while immersed in a book
Review: I savored these "Passages". I read it as slowly as I could in times when I would have otherwise been immersed in my frantic city life. I'm sure that I will savor them again. I would have to say this book could have a profound effect on you if your idea of a good time is a warm summer sunset, far from urban bustle. Van Stappen equates our desire for nature with the whale who must surface for air. I equate his book with quiet meditation and release from earthly cares. Without leaving your easy chair!

Rating:
Summary: On being one with Nature while immersed in a book
Review: I savored these "Passages". I read it as slowly as I could in times when I would have otherwise been immersed in my frantic city life. I'm sure that I will savor them again. I would have to say this book could have a profound effect on you if your idea of a good time is a warm summer sunset, far from urban bustle. Van Stappen equates our desire for nature with the whale who must surface for air. I equate his book with quiet meditation and release from earthly cares. Without leaving your easy chair!

Rating:
Summary: On being one with Nature while immersed in a book
Review: I savored these "Passages". I read it as slowly as I could in times when I would have otherwise been immersed in my frantic city life. I'm sure that I will savor them again. I would have to say this book could have a profound effect on you if your idea of a good time is a warm summer sunset, far from urban bustle. Van Stappen equates our desire for nature with the whale who must surface for air. I equate his book with quiet meditation and release from earthly cares. Without leaving your easy chair!

Rating:
Summary: A must for Lake Superior nature lovers.
Review: Northern Passages: Reflections from Lake Superior Country by Michael Van Stappen

Reviewed by Matt Welter

If there is one word the sums up Michael Van Stappen's collection of nature essays, it is "timelessness". Each of these essays slows down time while fishing for steelhead, condenses time in a Lake Superior fall bird migration, turns on the time-lapse camera of glacial time and rekindles the time-suspended fun of playing in the waves. Van Stappen's naturalist eye and poetic style draws his reader in. A writer for Wisconsin Outdoor Journal and 1996 Pippistrelle Best of the Small Press Winner, Van Stappen's collection of Lake Superior essays puts this achievement in the osprey's nest: high above and easy to spot. In his essay about blueberry picking, his dry wit can be found: "After all, our opposable thumb and forefinger didn't develop just to flick coins into vending machines. We were berry pickers before we were tool users and are still berry pickers today." Each essay is also accentuated with paintings by Kate Wright. Wright is obviously inspired by Van Stappen's writing. The paintings interact superbly with each essay. In his essay, "Ephemeral Like Clouds", Van Stappen writes about clouds of mayflies (Aurora ephemeralis) appearing everywhere in his hometown, Washburn. He writes, "They didn't spread themselves evenly like some insectile fog, but instead clustered in discrete, cloud-like swarms resembling miniature thunderstorms. Within each swarm there was a continuous circulation of mayflies rising and falling as if in updrafts and downdrafts." Wright's painting depicts the whirligig desires of mayflies, flocking to a lit cabin window. Hunters, birdwatchers, cabin owners, and fishermen will love this book. Vacationers heading for Northern Wisconsin and Lake Superior can enhance their trips with it. Residents of the region will find these essays a warming balm in the long winter nights. With it's sense of timelessness, "Northern Passages", will hopefully make it into the shelves of libraries and family favorites.

Rating:
Summary: A must for Lake Superior nature lovers.
Review: Northern Passages: Reflections from Lake Superior Country by Michael Van Stappen

Reviewed by Matt Welter

If there is one word the sums up Michael Van Stappen's collection of nature essays, it is "timelessness". Each of these essays slows down time while fishing for steelhead, condenses time in a Lake Superior fall bird migration, turns on the time-lapse camera of glacial time and rekindles the time-suspended fun of playing in the waves. Van Stappen's naturalist eye and poetic style draws his reader in. A writer for Wisconsin Outdoor Journal and 1996 Pippistrelle Best of the Small Press Winner, Van Stappen's collection of Lake Superior essays puts this achievement in the osprey's nest: high above and easy to spot. In his essay about blueberry picking, his dry wit can be found: "After all, our opposable thumb and forefinger didn't develop just to flick coins into vending machines. We were berry pickers before we were tool users and are still berry pickers today." Each essay is also accentuated with paintings by Kate Wright. Wright is obviously inspired by Van Stappen's writing. The paintings interact superbly with each essay. In his essay, "Ephemeral Like Clouds", Van Stappen writes about clouds of mayflies (Aurora ephemeralis) appearing everywhere in his hometown, Washburn. He writes, "They didn't spread themselves evenly like some insectile fog, but instead clustered in discrete, cloud-like swarms resembling miniature thunderstorms. Within each swarm there was a continuous circulation of mayflies rising and falling as if in updrafts and downdrafts." Wright's painting depicts the whirligig desires of mayflies, flocking to a lit cabin window. Hunters, birdwatchers, cabin owners, and fishermen will love this book. Vacationers heading for Northern Wisconsin and Lake Superior can enhance their trips with it. Residents of the region will find these essays a warming balm in the long winter nights. With it's sense of timelessness, "Northern Passages", will hopefully make it into the shelves of libraries and family favorites.

Rating:
Summary: My book is for everyone who loves wild things and places.
Review: Simply put, my book is about finding one's way deep into a landscape. Without saying so, each story tells two stories. Overtly they speak of some of the truly wonderful places and things I've discovered or experienced in Lake Superior Country. But in a less tangible way each story speaks of seeking and finding sanctuary, of setting roots and reconnecting with the land and water, of becoming native and finding ourselves at home. This is the unspoken theme of the book. The stories are not didactic, rhetorical, or very technical; each was written with friends, neighbors, and colleauges--people like you---in mind. Northern Passages has received much praise and I have been strongly urged to submit it for a number of awards including the 1998 Sigurd Olson Book Award. As my publisher has said, "Everyone will love it!" If you were willing to journey the long electric trail to this page, I think you will love it too. Thanks for taking the time to read about Norther Passages.