History:
– Henry David Thoreau’s “Walden” (1854) influenced the idea of simplifying life by going into the wilderness.
– Thoreau’s observations have influenced various movements like the national park system and civil rights.
– Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes” (1879) popularized hiking and camping.
– Frank Cowper’s “Sailing Tours” (1892–1896) and Joshua Slocum’s “Sailing Alone Around the World” (1900) are sailing classics.
– The National Outdoor Book Award recognizes outstanding outdoor literature since 1997.
Outdoor classics:
– John MacGregor’s “A Thousand Miles in a Rob Roy Canoe” (1866) documented recreational canoeing.
– Mark Twain’s “Roughing It” (1872) portrays life in the American Old West.
– Maurice Herzog’s “Annapurna: Conquest of the First 8000-metre Peak” (1951) is a significant mountaineering book.
– Annie Dillard’s “Pilgrim at Tinker Creek” (1974) is a renowned work about nature.
– Cheryl Strayed’s “Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail” (2013) depicts the challenges of long-distance hiking.
See also:
– Literature portal
– Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature
– Guide book for tourists
– Nature writing as a literary genre
– Banff Mountain Book Festival
References:
– Thomas West’s “A Guide to the Lakes in Cumberland, Westmorland, and Lancashire” (1821) is an early guidebook.
– Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Travel with a Donkey in the Cevennes” (1879) mentions the first sleeping bag in 1876.
– Obituary of Frank Cowper, a notable figure in yachting.
– Joshua Slocum’s “Sailing Alone Around the World” (1899) is a significant sailing account.
– The National Outdoor Book Awards recognize outstanding outdoor literature.
External links:
– National Outdoor Book Awards
– American Journeys, a collection of primary exploration accounts of the Americas.
Outdoor literature is a literature genre about or involving the outdoors. Outdoor literature encompasses several different subgenres including exploration literature, adventure literature, mountain literature and nature writing. Another subgenre is the guide book, an early example of which was Thomas West's guide to the Lake District published in 1778. The genres can include activities such as exploration, survival, sailing, hiking, mountaineering, whitewater boating, geocaching or kayaking, or writing about nature and the environment. Travel literature is similar to outdoor literature but differs in that it does not always deal with the out-of-doors, but there is a considerable overlap between these genres, in particular with regard to long journeys.
