The Singing Wilderness



The Singing Wilderness, published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1956, was Sigurd Olson's first book, and it was immensely successful, becoming a classic of American nature writing. For Sigurd himself, it was the culmination of a long and hard-fought dream. The journal entries and letters below, along with excerpts from A Wilderness Within: The Life of Sigurd F. Olson, tell the story. I recommend reading the items in the order listed.


[bullet]The Making of The Singing Wilderness

[bullet]Time to Start a Book: Journal Entries from 1952

[bullet]"This is the Most Important Thing You've Ever Tried": Putting it Together, 1953 to January 1954

[bullet]Telling the Family, Getting Reactions, Early 1954

[bullet]To Bring Forth "Something Shining for Man," February 1954

[bullet]"Make 1954 the Year of Submission and Acceptance"

[bullet]Finding an Agent: May-June 1954

[bullet]Rejection: Summer and Fall, 1954

[bullet]"I am Enclosing Good News from Knopf": January 1955

[bullet]April-May 1956: Success! The Singing Wilderness is Published, and Makes the New York Times Bestseller List

[bullet]The Singing Wilderness and A Sand County Almanac: Comparing Olson and Leopold