Looking to connect deeper to John Muir?
Let’s start with one of my favorites resources for making this film, The Contemplative John Muir, which lead to author Stephen K. Hatch’s in the film. This book is his sort of “bible” of Muir quotations related to a vibrant and ecstatic spirituality of Nature. It includes a new selection of never-before published selections from original journals contained in the John Muir Papers, as well as passages from his published works. Anyone interested in experiencing a deeper communion with Nature will find this book invaluable.
Daniel Lee Henry, Across the Shaman’s River (2017), who discusses Muir’s encounter with the Chilkat and Chilkoot Tlingit tribes. He also wrote a new foreword and discusses John Muir’s change of heart regarding racism after his travels to Alaska (in the book for the same name).
Also Florence Williams’s book, The Nature Fix. She is a contributing editor at Outside Magazine and a freelance writer for the New York Times, National Geographic, among other publications. Her feature article in the National Geographic “This is Your Brain on Nature” prompted me to reach out to her which is how she also ended up on the film.
University of the Pacific Libraries have a gallery of images that you can browse https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/jmp/index.html. And there are tons online “out there” that might be free and easy to get and use.
To use from the library, please review: https://www.pacific.edu/university-libraries/find/holt-atherton-special-collections/fees-and-forms
Places to Go
Sierra Club, John Muir was also one of the founders of the Sierra Club, and the organization’s John Muir Exhibit gives a comprehensive view of Muir, his life and work: www.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit.
The John Muir National Historic Site was established after the house, the Martinez Adobe and surrounding orchards were purchased by the National Park Service in 1964. In 1993, and additional 326 acres of Muir’s original property (now open space) were purchased, known as Mt. Wanda. Visit the John Muir National Historic Site website at www.nps.gov/jomu.
John Muir Association, The magic of John Muir lives today in our public parklands and wilderness areas, the orchards and vineyards of Contra Costa County, California, sunsets atop Mt. Wanda, and in writings and teachings that spread the word about nature and our place in it. Learn more.
Friends of John Muir’s Birthplace, John Muir was born in Dunbar, Scotland, and John Muir’s Birthplace is now a museum and educational center. Explore the life and legacy of this remarkable man here, in the house where he was born. This unique museum is also the starting point of the John Muir Way – making it the beginning of the journey of a lifetime in more ways than one. Learn more.
The John Muir Way stretches 134 miles or 215 km across Scotland’s heartland, running between Helensburgh in the west through to Dunbar on the east coast and Muir’s birthplace. We walked the way in 2019 which is shared in more detail here.
Learn more about the John Muir Way.
