Julie Murphy, Landscape Architect
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Landscapes & Literature

2/11/2017

 
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I was reflecting upon my book collection the other day, and how, were it not for a last-minute discovery of the profession of Landscape Architecture, I may have ended up pursuing an English degree in undergrad. That's a different story, but for now, I noticed how many of my favorite books have a very strong element of landscape in them. In some, the landscape is even some sort of character - changing and reacting and acting as a foil against the other characters. I decided that if I ever wanted to teach a college course (which I really don't, teaching is not a skill I've mastered), I would teach a course on landscapes as seen through literature, and their design implications. A cross-breeding humanities and design course (maybe my time at UVA has something to do with this inspiration). Here are a few examples of the books (and their landscapes) that have inspired me:
  • the majesty and fertility of Willa Cather's prairies in O Pioneers & My Antonia​
  • the harsh New Mexican desert beauty in Cather's lesser known Death Comes to the Archbishop
  • The stress and calm extremes of city life in Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities, typified by noise and nature.
  • The long urban rambles in Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, mind and city reflecting each other's chaos
  • The wild, familiar, warmth of Wendell Berry's Kentucky farmland and river valleys, in his books and poetry.
  • Carl Sandburg's poetry of Chicago: the beautiful, maddening city and the many lives and stories unfolding there
  • Lord of the Rings and the landscapes of myth and journeys.
I'm sure there are many, many more (any suggestions?). And what would the design implications be? But yes, this would be fun to explore, in a paper, or a class, or even just a book club.


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    I'm Julie Murphy, a landscape architect pursuing a master's degree in urban and environmental planning in Charlottesville, VA

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