Whatwildernesslover,asksJohnTallmadge,“wouldeverdreamofsettlingdeepintheRustBeltastridepollutedrivers?“TheCincinnatiArchholdstheprovocativeanswertoTallmadge’squestion,whichwaspromptedbyhisunplannedrelocationfromruralMinnesotatourbanOhio.Tallmadgetellsofdismayingearlyencounterswiththecity’sseemingbarenness,hisgrowingawarenessofitsvitalityandabundance,andfinallyhisnewvisionofallnature,fromthevacantlotsofhisneighborhoodtoourgreatNewEnglandforestsandWesterndeserts.Newtothecity,Tallmadgesawonlyitsconcrete,glass,smog,anddebris.Soonhisinterest,stirredbythewonderofhischildrenattheirsurroundings,focusedTallmadgetothe“buzzing,flapping,scurrying,chewing,photosynthesizinglifeforms“aroundhim.Moredeeply,Tallmadgebegantolearnfrom,andnotjustabout,thecity.Nature’spersistence--withinhimandwhereverhelooked--woreawayatoldnotionsofwildernessthatmadenoallowancesforhumanculture.The“arch“ofthebook’stitleisrichlyresonant:asthenameofageologicformationmoldingtheurbanlandscapeTallmadgecomestolove;asanarchetypalbuildingform;and,initsparabolicshape,asametaphorforlife’sjourney.Filledwithluminouslessonsofmindfulness,attentiveness,andotherspiritualpractices,thisisahopefulguidetofindingnatureandbalanceinunlikelyplaces.
