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ARTS & LITERATURE
LONGLEAF LITERATURE
Author: J. Drew Lanham Publisher: Milkweed Editions, 2017
The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature Reviewed by Lisa Lord, The Longleaf Alliance
J. Drew Lanham’s book is an ode to so many things pineywoods lovers, ecologists, birders, naturalists, and “wandering-wondering watchers and ecologically enlightened spirits” hold dear. The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature unfolds in exquisite layers exploring the connections between the past, nature, and man’s relationship to the land. Lanham weaves together art and science in his memoir, delving into race, family, sense of place, and what it really means to embrace wildness, and through it, his self-acceptance as a “rare bird.” Lanham’s ability to analyze himself in this memoir is astounding, thought-provoking, and at times hilarious, and he does it with incredible clarity. The author is a native of Edgefield County, a mostly forested county situated in western South Carolina and the backdrop for the memoir. It’s a place where elements from the coastal plain, piedmont, and mountains intertwine and is traversed by tributaries that eventually make their way to the Savannah River. This mosaic creates a wealth of biodiversity and a landscape that is ripe for those with a natural outdoor curiosity. In the book, we are introduced to the Home Place and his multi-faceted family members, including his grandmother, Mamatha, his teacher parents, siblings, and others that
helped to ignite his passion for birds along the way. He describes his education and experiences at Clemson University, where he completed his PhD, and now holds an endowed chair as an Alumni Distinguished Professor and Master Teacher. Lanham also discusses what it means to bird while black. As he stated during a 2015 interview with Audubon, “I also think it’s a matter of redefining and expanding what a birder is. Color doesn’t limit birds; it simply enhances their lives and our enjoyment in seeing them. I think it should be the same with us.” As our country engages in conversations and protests centered around racial injustice, the author’s message of racial inclusion in outdoor spaces is relevant and needs to be embraced now more than ever. Through his teaching, speaking, and mentorship, Lanham has ignited an ecological flame in many of his students at the university. Through his prolific writing, he is spreading this flame beyond the classroom. Many that work to restore the longleaf ecosystem are, as Lanham describes, “possessed by it,” although perhaps we have not defined this as clearly or expressed it so eloquently. Overall, this award-winning book is akin to a bird song. It is unique, lyrical, captivating, and for those that truly know the natural world, it holds beautiful familiarity.
“I think a lot about land. In fact, I am possessed by it. I think about the lay of the land, how it came to be, what natural forces have changed it, what human forces have mangled it, how concrete and asphalt shall doom it. I think about the promise it holds for the future and what history it preserves from the past.” [ 42 ]
