Discussion: Helen MacDonald's "H is for Hawk" and Animal Memoirs
Details
This month the Animals and Nature Discussion Group will discuss the always-popular genre of Animal Memoirs. Our (optional) recommended reading is the bestselling H is For Hawk by Helen MacDonald:
The instant New York Times bestseller and award-winning sensation, Helen Macdonald's story of adopting and raising one of nature's most vicious predators has soared into the hearts of millions of readers worldwide. Fierce and feral, her goshawk Mabel's temperament mirrors Helen's own state of grief after her father's death, and together raptor and human "discover the pain and beauty of being alive" (People). H Is for Hawk is a genre-defying debut from one of our most unique and transcendent voices. More info / excerpt (http://www.groveatlantic.com/?title=H+Is+for+Hawk).
The Kalamazoo Library has copies of the book to lend, so get yours now. Or, if you are a fan of another animal memoir, such as those by James "All Creatures Great and Small" Herriot, or Marley and Me, etc., feel free to come prepared to discuss that. (Here's a long list of possibilities (http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/8386.Animal_Memoirs).)
Possible discussion topics:
• How believable is this memoir--or any animal memoir? For instance, MacDonald frequently claims a strong emotional identification with her hawk, Mabel, which is a very different type of creature from a human. Do you believe that such a relationship is possible, or is MacDonald projecting her feelings and thoughts onto the hawk?
• How would the story differ if Mabel the Hawk could tell it from her perspective?
• How is living with, relating to, and training a hawk different from, say, doing all that with a dog or cat--or even parrot.
• How did this memoir influence your thinking on birds, nature, predation, or any other topic.
• Anything else we feel like discussing!
We'll be meeting on Wednesday, September 28th, at 7:00 pm, at the Kalamazoo Public Library Central Branch in the Board Room.
The Animals and Nature Discussion Group is sponsored by Vegan Kalamazoo. Everyone, including vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores, is always welcome at all Vegan Kalamazoo events.