Outdoor literature is a

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

genre about or involving the outdoors. Outdoor literature encompasses several different

subgenre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a Category of being, category of literature, ...

s including exploration literature, adventure literature, mountain literature and

nature writing Nature writing is nonfiction or fiction prose or poetry about the natural environment. Nature writing encompasses a wide variety of works, ranging from those that place primary emphasis on natural history facts (such as field guides) to those in w ...

. Another subgenre is the

guide book A guide book or travel guide is "a book of information about a place designed for the use of visitors or tourists". It will usually include information about sights, accommodation, restaurants, transportation, and activities. Maps of varying det ...

, an early example of which was Thomas West's guide to the

Lake District The Lake District, also known as the Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous for its lakes, forests, and mountains (or ''fells''), and its associations with William Wordswor ...

published in 1778. The genres can include activities such as exploration, survival,

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cour ...

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

mountaineering Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, a ...

whitewater Whitewater forms in a rapid context, in particular, when a river's gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that froths, making the water appear opaque and ...

boating,

geocaching Geocaching is an outdoor recreational activity, in which participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called "geocaches" or "caches", at specific l ...

kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...

, or writing about nature and the environment.

Travel literature The genre of travel literature encompasses outdoor literature, guide books, nature writing, and travel memoirs. One early travel memoirist in Western literature was Pausanias, a Greek geographer of the 2nd century CE. In the early modern period ...

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.

History

Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau (July 12, 1817May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading Transcendentalism, transcendentalist, he is best known for his book ''Walden'', a reflection upon simple living in natural su ...

's ''

Walden ''Walden'' (; first published in 1854 as ''Walden; or, Life in the Woods'') is a book by American transcendentalist writer Henry David Thoreau. The text is a reflection upon the author's simple living in natural surroundings. The work is part ...

'' (1854) is an early and influential work. Although not entirely an outdoor work (he lived in a cabin close to civilization) he expressed the ideas of why people go out into the wilderness to camp, backpack and hike: to get away from the rush of modern society and simplify life. This was a new perspective for the time and thus ''Walden'' has had a lasting influence on most outdoor authors. Walden Pond, 2010

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...

's ''

Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes ''Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes'' (1879) is one of Robert Louis Stevenson's earliest published works and is considered a pioneering classic of outdoor literature. Background Stevenson was in his late 20s and still dependent on his par ...

'' (1879), about his travels in

Cévennes , etymology= , photo=Point Sublime-Gorges du Tarn-Frankreich.jpg , photo_caption=The Gorges du Tarn , country= France , subdivision2= , subdivision2_type=Départements , parent= Massif Central , area_km2= , length_km= , length_orient ...

(France), is among the first popular books to present hiking and camping as recreational activities, and tells of commissioning one of the first

sleeping bag A sleeping bag is an insulated covering for a person, essentially a lightweight quilt that can be closed with a zipper or similar means to form a tube, which functions as lightweight, portable bedding in situations where a person is sleeping ...

s. In the world of sailing

Joshua Slocum Joshua Slocum (February 20, 1844 – on or shortly after November 14, 1909) was the first person to sail single-handedly around the world. He was a Nova Scotian-born, naturalised American seaman and adventurer, and a noted writer. In 1900 he wr ...

's ''

Sailing Alone Around the World ''Sailing Alone Around the World'' is a sailing memoir by Joshua Slocum in 1900 about his single-handed global circumnavigation aboard the sloop ''Spray''. Slocum was the first person to sail around the world alone. The book was an immediate ...

'' (1900) is a classic of outdoor literature. In April 1895, Joshua Slocum set sail from Boston, Massachusetts and in ''Sailing Alone Around the World'',Slocum (1899), ''Sailing Alone Around the World'' he described his departure: More than three years later, on June 27, 1898, he returned to

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

, having

circumnavigated Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical body (e.g. a planet or moon). This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth. The first recorded circumnavigation of the Earth was the Magel ...

the world, a distance of more than 46,000 miles (74,000 km). The

National Outdoor Book Award The National Outdoor Book Award (NOBA) was formed in 1997 as an American-based non-profit program which each year presents awards honoring the best in outdoor writing and publishing. It is housed at Idaho State University and chaired by Ron Watte ...

was established in 1997 as a US-based non-profit program which each year honours the best in outdoor writing and publishing.National Outdoor Book Awards Official sit

Outdoor classics

* 19th century ** John MacGregor (sportsman), John MacGregor (1866). ''A Thousand Miles in a Rob Roy Canoe''. Considered the first documentation of recreational canoeing. **

Edward Whymper Edward Whymper FRSE (27 April 184016 September 1911) was an English mountaineer, explorer, illustrator, and author best known for the first ascent of the Matterhorn in 1865. Four members of his climbing party were killed during the descent. W ...

(1871). ''Scrambles Amongst the Alps in the Years 1860–1869''. **

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

(1872). ''

Roughing It ''Roughing It'' is a book of semi-autobiographical travel literature by Mark Twain. It was written in 1870–71 and published in 1872, as a prequel to his first travel book ''The Innocents Abroad'' (1869). ''Roughing It'' is dedicated to Twa ...

''. Part real part fiction, classic account of life in the American

Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

. **

Walter Weston Walter Weston (25 December 1861 – 27 March 1940), was an English clergyman and Anglican missionary who helped popularise recreational mountaineering in Japan at the turn of the 20th century. Background and early life Weston was born 25 De ...

(1896). ''Mountaineering and Exploration in the Japanese Alps''. * 20th century **

John Muir John Muir ( ; April 21, 1838December 24, 1914), also known as "John of the Mountains" and "Father of the National Parks", was an influential Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologist, a ...

, (1911). ''My First Summer in the Sierra''. **

Grey Owl Archibald Stansfeld Belaney (; September 18, 1888 – April 13, 1938), commonly known as Grey Owl, was a British-born conservationist, fur trapper, and writer who disguised himself as a Native American man. While he achieved fame as a co ...

(1935). ''Pilgrims of the Wild''. About Grey Owl's life in the wilds of Canada. ** Gontran de Poncins (1939). '' Kabloona''. French adventurer living with Eskimos in the late 1930s. **

Maurice Herzog Maurice André Raymond Herzog (15 January 191913 December 2012) was a French mountaineer and administrator who was born in Lyon, France. He led the 1950 French Annapurna expedition that first climbed a peak over 8000m, Annapurna, in 1950, and r ...

(1951). ''

Annapurna Annapurna (; ne, अन्नपूर्ण) is a mountain situated in the Annapurna mountain range of Gandaki Province, north-central Nepal. It is the tenth highest mountain in the world at above sea level and is well known for the difficu ...

: Conquest of the First 8000-metre Peak''. Probably the most influential mountaineering expedition book. **

Wallace Stegner Wallace Earle Stegner (February 18, 1909 – April 13, 1993) was an American novelist, short story writer, environmentalist, and historian, often called "The Dean of Western Writers". He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1972 and the U.S. National Book ...

(1954). ''Beyond the Hundredth Meridian: John Wesley Powell and the Second Opening of the West''. **

Alfred Lansing Alfred Mark Lansing (July 21, 1921 – August 27, 1975) was an American journalist and writer, best known for his book '' Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage'' (1959), an account of Sir Ernest Shackleton's Antarctic explorations. Life Lan ...

(1959). '' Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage''. ** John Hillaby, ''Journey to the Jade Sea'' (1964); ''Journey through Britain''; ''Journey through Europe''; ''Journey to the Gods'' (1991). Accounts of various long distance walks. **

Edward Abbey Edward Paul Abbey (January 29, 1927 – March 14, 1989) was an American author, essayist, and environmental activist noted for his advocacy of environmental issues and criticism of public land policies. His best-known works include ''Desert Solit ...

(1968) ''

Desert Solitaire ''Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness'' is an autobiographical work by American writer Edward Abbey, originally published in 1968. His fourth book and his first book-length non-fiction work, it follows three fictional books: '' Jonatha ...

'' **

Colin Fletcher Colin Fletcher (14 March 1922 – 12 June 2007) was a pioneering backpacker and writer. In 1963, Fletcher walked the length of that portion of Grand Canyon contained within the 1963 boundaries of Grand Canyon National Park. Although ...

(1968) ''

The Complete Walker ''The Complete Walker'' is an in-depth guide to backpacking, written by Colin Fletcher with illustrations by political aide/women's rights advocate Nick Bauer. It was very influential and "could be credited with starting the backpacking industry ...

'' **

Annie Dillard Annie Dillard (born April 30, 1945) is an American author, best known for her narrative prose in both fiction and non-fiction. She has published works of poetry, essays, prose, and literary criticism, as well as two novels and one memoir. Her 19 ...

, (1974) ''

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek ''Pilgrim at Tinker Creek'' is a 1974 nonfiction narrative book by American author Annie Dillard. Told from a first-person point of view, the book details Dillard's explorations near her home, and various contemplations on nature and life. Th ...

'' **

Patrick Leigh Fermor Sir Patrick Michael Leigh Fermor (11 February 1915 – 10 June 2011) was an English writer, scholar, soldier and polyglot. He played a prominent role in the Cretan resistance during the Second World War, and was widely seen as Britain's greates ...

, ''

A Time of Gifts ''A Time of Gifts'' (1977) is a travel book by British author Patrick Leigh Fermor. Published by John Murray when the author was 62, it is a memoir of the first part of Fermor's journey on foot across Europe from the Hook of Holland to Constanti ...

'' (1977); ''

Between the Woods and the Water ''Between the Woods and the Water'' is a travel book by British author Patrick Leigh Fermor, the second in a series of three books narrating the author's journey on foot across Europe from the Hook of Holland to Constantinople in 1933/34. The fi ...

'' (1986); '' The Broken Road'' (2013). A trilogy describing a walk across Europe. **

Nan Shepherd Anna "Nan" Shepherd (11 February 1893 – 27 February 1981) was a Scottish Modernist writer and poet, best known for her seminal mountain memoir, ''The Living Mountain'', based on experiences of hill walking in the Cairngorms. This is noted as a ...

, (1977). ''The Living Mountain''. **

Jon Krakauer Jon Krakauer (born April 12, 1954) is an American writer and mountaineer. He is the author of bestselling non-fiction books—'' Into the Wild''; ''Into Thin Air''; ''Under the Banner of Heaven''; and '' Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat ...

(1990s). '' Into the Wild'', ''

Into Thin Air ''Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster'' is a 1997 bestselling nonfiction book written by Jon Krakauer. It details Krakauer's experience in the 1996 Mount Everest disaster, in which eight climbers were killed and sev ...

''. ** Joe Simpson, '' Touching the Void'' (1988). Mountain climbing in the Andes. * 21st century **

Jim Perrin Jim Perrin (born 30 March 1947), is an English rock climber and travel writer. Biography Jim Perrin was born Ernest James Perrin in Manchester, England, to a family of Huguenot descent. His father played rugby league for Salford in the late 1930 ...

, ''Spirits of Place'' (1997); ''The Climbing Essays'' (2006); ''West: A Journey through the Landscapes of Loss'' (2010). A rock climber and travel writer. ** Bill McKibben (2005) ''Wandering Home''. Also: '' The End of Nature'' (1989) **

Rory Stewart Roderick James Nugent Stewart (born 3 January 1973) is a British academic, diplomat, author, broadcaster, former soldier and former politician. He is the president of GiveDirectly, a visiting fellow at Yale University's Jackson Institute for ...

, ''

The Places in Between ''The Places in Between'' is a travel narrative by Rory Stewart, a British writer and former diplomat, and future member of Parliament, detailing his solo walk across north-central Afghanistan in 2002. Synopsis Stewart arrives in Afghanistan ...

'' (2006). A walk across

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

in 2002, after the Russians had left. **

Cheryl Strayed Cheryl Strayed (; née Nyland; born September 17, 1968) is an American writer and podcast host. She has written four books: the novel ''Torch'' (2006) and the nonfiction books '' Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail'' (2012), '' Ti ...

, '' Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail'' (2013). Describes the grueling life of the long-distance hiker, the perils of the PCT, and its peculiar community of wanderers. ** Robert Macfarlane, ''Mountains of the Mind: A History of a Fascination''; ''The Wild Places''; ''The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot'' (2012). He is one of a number of recent British writers who have provoked a new critical and popular interest in writing about landscape.

References

External links

National Outdoor Book Awards

American Journeys
collection of primary exploration accounts of the Americas. {{Authority control Literature Non-fiction genres Non-fiction outdoors writers *Outdoor literature

History

Outdoor classics

See also

References

External links