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Seeds

by Richard Horan

A literary journey rooted in American landscapes

Regular price $15.24 USD
Regular price $23.82 USD Sale price $15.24 USD
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Paperback New English

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Awards & Recognition

  • Critical praise

    Praise from Spike Carlsen

    Spike Carlsen praises the book as poignant, insightful, and unexpectedly humorous, comparing it to a roundtable ...

AlbakiReads Editorial

A literary journey rooted in American landscapes

Richard Horan’s cross-country journey links the trees and places associated with American writers to the stories those landscapes helped shape. Traveling from Jack Kerouac’s home to Gettysburg and other literary landmarks, he gathers seeds from trees connected to writers including Eudora Welty, Edith Wharton, Ken Kesey, William Faulkner, Henry David Thoreau, and Harper Lee. The collecting mission gives the book a concrete thread through its mix of travel, botany, literary history, and reflection on conservation. Its subject is both the physical legacy of historic trees and the connections between place, nature, and American literature.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in literary landmarks and American writers
  • Readers who enjoy travel narratives grounded in botany and natural history
  • Readers curious about conservation and the relationship between landscape and literature

Themes

American literary historyTrees and landscapeTravel and placeBotany and seed collectionConservation

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

"Seeds reads like the best of a roundtable discussion amongst John Muir, Bill Bryson, and David Sedaris. From the fields of Gettysburg to the home of Kerouac, Horan takes an unlikely premise and weaves it into a story that's poignant, insightful and unexpectedly humorous. This is more than a book about seeds--it's about literary heroes, forensic forestry, and self-discovery." --Spike Carlsen, author of A Splintered History of Wood

The Orchid Thief meets Botany of Desire meets Driving Einstein's Brain in Richard Horan's Seeds, the chronicle of one man's literary pilgrimage to understand the influence and impact of trees in American life and literature--and his mission to collect seeds from the homes of Kerouac, Welty, Wharton, Kesey and twenty other American writers, to preserve the literary legacy of American forests for generations to come.

This pilgrimage across America unearths more than just seeds--it reveals the deep connections between the landscape and its most celebrated storytellers.

  • A Unique Travel Memoir: Join author Richard Horan on a cross-country road trip, from the home of Jack Kerouac to the fields of Gettysburg, in a quest that is equal parts humorous, insightful, and deeply personal.
  • Literary Landmarks: Discover the surprising histories of the trees that stood sentinel for authors like Faulkner, Thoreau, Edith Wharton, and Harper Lee, witnessing their moments of creative inspiration.
  • Nature and Literature: Explore the profound, often-overlooked connection between the American landscape and its literary legacy, blending history, botany, and a love for great books.
  • A Singular Mission: Follow a fascinating mission to collect and preserve seeds from these historic trees, a living tribute to the roots of American creativity and a message of conservation for the future.
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