Nature and the Embodied Hybrid

Abstract

The genre of nature writing sets up an assumption of the writer's physical participation with the world. It is an expectation that the contemporary nature writer will engage and form connections with the natural and cultural entities of a place, prior to constructing a narrative. These bodily experiences are expressed through the act of writing in order to explore the value of non-human nature and the complexity of human relationships with nature/culture. However, a multi-layering of nature/culture occurs in the production of nature writing. The text not only acts as expression of bodily engagement with the world but also presents the reader with a means of experiencing and connecting with place. I will discuss the notions of hybridity and embodiment as methodological tools for the nature writer with reference to Nigel Krauth's work on writing from the body as well as contemporary renegotiations of Donna Haraway's cyborg, and Janet Frame's Living in the Maniototo.