--- product_id: 228170 title: "Pilgrim at Tinker Creek: A Pulitzer Prize-Winning Memoir of Nature, Observation, and the Seasons in Virginia" price: "€ 28.78" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.be/products/228170-pilgrim-at-tinker-creek-a-pulitzer-prize-winning-memoir-nature store_origin: BE region: Belgium --- # Pilgrim at Tinker Creek: A Pulitzer Prize-Winning Memoir of Nature, Observation, and the Seasons in Virginia **Price:** € 28.78 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Pilgrim at Tinker Creek: A Pulitzer Prize-Winning Memoir of Nature, Observation, and the Seasons in Virginia - **How much does it cost?** € 28.78 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.be](https://www.desertcart.be/products/228170-pilgrim-at-tinker-creek-a-pulitzer-prize-winning-memoir-nature) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Winner of the Pulitzer Prize “The book is a form of meditation, written with headlong urgency, about seeing. . . . There is an ambition about [Dillard's] book that I like. . . . It is the ambition to feel.” — Eudora Welty, New York Times Book Review Pilgrim at Tinker Creek is the story of a dramatic year in Virginia's Roanoke Valley, where Annie Dillard set out to chronicle incidents of "beauty tangled in a rapture with violence." Dillard's personal narrative highlights one year's exploration on foot in the Virginia region through which Tinker Creek runs. In the summer, she stalks muskrats in the creek and contemplates wave mechanics; in the fall, she watches a monarch butterfly migration and dreams of Arctic caribou. She tries to con a coot; she collects pond water and examines it under a microscope. She unties a snake skin, witnesses a flood, and plays King of the Meadow with a field of grasshoppers. The result is an exhilarating tale of nature and its seasons. Review: A Verbal Meditation - It's intriguing reading peoples' reviews of Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard. The majority find it spellbindingly beautiful, a work of poetry, and well deserving of the 1975 Pulitzer Prize it was awarded. A small, vocal group insist it's mind-numbingly dull, with no plot and no resolution. It doesn't "go anywhere". In many ways I find that the story, and readers' reactions, are quite similar to how meditation is perceived. First, the basics. Annie Dillard married a poet, earned a Master's Degree in English, and wrote her thesis on Thoreau and Walden Pond. For two years after she graduated she was writing, journaling, and painting. She then decided that in essence she should write her own take on nature, similar to Thoreau's experiences. Where Thoreau was a man out in rural Massachusetts in the mid-1800s, Dillard was a woman, over a hundred years later, in rural Roanoke, Virginia. She felt there was room enough in the world for a fresh take on natural life. And indeed she was quite correct. This isn't a "story" about a person starting Here and ending up There. It isn't even a series of essays, as some readers have mistakenly assumed. Instead, Dillard is clear that this is a cohesive piece, organized chronologically, building and expanding on previous experiences and then moving forward. Dillard is not only keen in her insight into what is before her, but also amazingly well read. She can find the relations between the water before her and the Eskimo traditions, between a barely visible creature and the quotes of scientists from decades ago. It's like sitting down at the side of a pond with your beloved aunt who has traveled the world, and hearing fascinating stories about how various bits of life relate to fascinating creatures far away. The book is poetry, and one focus here is that *life* is poetry. Everything around us is beautiful and terrible and will be gone in the blink of an eye. Turn your head too quickly and it will skitter off, never to be seen again. The roiling crimson beauty of a magnificent sunset will fade into a smoky grey, and no matter how many sunsets you watch after that, none will ever be quite the same. Is it "boring" to read about the fantastic myriad wonders that nature presents to us every day? That's an intriguing question. Somehow our world has trained us to be obsessively attentive when a movie-screen freight train barrels towards a stalled car, but to turn away uninterested when a double rainbow shimmers into existence over a lake. We stare down at our smartphone screen in dedicated frenzy when a Facebook post blings into existence, but we ignore the real live human being before us who we could learn so much from. We want a start, a middle, and an end. But nature goes on, always renewing, constantly restoring, and I think somewhere many of us have lost track of that. So, yes, settling in with Pilgrim at Tinker Creek is like settling into a favorite chair on your back porch, sipping a delicious glass of wine, and watching with fascination as the golden-winged dragonflies perform an intricate mating ritual. It is spellbinding, and soothing, and fascinating - but one has to want to slow down and pay attention. One needs to mute the TV, turn off the cell, and be willing to breathe in the natural world which is all around us. Well recommended. Review: One of my favorites. - Pilgrim at Tinker Creek is a strange book (I mean that in an entirely good, Pulitzer-prize winning sort of way). Your sense of nature around you will be not only sharpened but also simultaneously destroyed: Annie Dillard brings so much to your attention that any ordinary walk now seems like an adventure, filled with tiny events of huge importance that you are doubtless missing. This is a book about nature, and someone who loves nature and takes time to observe it. This book is, at its core, not so much a book as a journal: a journal written by someone who has learned to see all of life in the small things. Rather than being disconnected essays, as some have claimed, this book is an entire, living story. Annie Dillard writes about seeing with a sense of urgency, as if when you blink the entire, elaborate picture will have vanished. There is an ambition in this book to feel. You will be sucked in with no choice. There is no other writer who is so well able to tie tiny strands into a beautiful tapestry: especially when the tiny strands range from mountains to cicadas and locusts. This book is written in the revelry of experiencing creation bit by bit, leaf by leaf, muskrat by muskrat, mountain by mountain, galaxy by galaxy. But the writing is far from tedious. Rather, the sense of wonder — which you feel for an instant upon seeing something beautiful — is prolonged throughout the entire book. The book is balanced in two halves: a Yin-Yang sort of perspective on the world. The author calls these the via positiva and the via negativa: two routes to seeing God in creation: one in the world’s grand intricacy and beauty, and the other in the raw power that kills billions of insects each year. Both halves have a chapter which forms the high-water mark, each of which counterbalance the other. The chapter named “Seeing” is the mark of the via positiva, which is all wiped out in “Flood,” to begin the via negativa, which climaxes in “Northing.” You will never be able to take a ‘simple’ walk again (as if there is such a thing!). For both halves — the marvelous and the hideous — direct you to the glory of God’s creation. What is so exciting about this book is that it is not written from a ‘Christian’ perspective: faced with the glory of creation, Annie Dillard has no choice but to revel in the Creator and in His world. I highly recommend Pilgrim from Tinker Creek without reserve. It will challenge you. You will have a sharpened to the little things in creation. You will close the back cover and care a little bit more, which is absolutely a good thing. ## Features - Great product! ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #1,336 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #1 in Nature Writing & Essays #1 in Southern U.S. Biographies #1 in Christian Poetry (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.4 out of 5 stars 1,507 Reviews | ## Images ![Pilgrim at Tinker Creek: A Pulitzer Prize-Winning Memoir of Nature, Observation, and the Seasons in Virginia - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51cJjT-Ev+L.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Verbal Meditation *by L***A on November 13, 2012* It's intriguing reading peoples' reviews of Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard. The majority find it spellbindingly beautiful, a work of poetry, and well deserving of the 1975 Pulitzer Prize it was awarded. A small, vocal group insist it's mind-numbingly dull, with no plot and no resolution. It doesn't "go anywhere". In many ways I find that the story, and readers' reactions, are quite similar to how meditation is perceived. First, the basics. Annie Dillard married a poet, earned a Master's Degree in English, and wrote her thesis on Thoreau and Walden Pond. For two years after she graduated she was writing, journaling, and painting. She then decided that in essence she should write her own take on nature, similar to Thoreau's experiences. Where Thoreau was a man out in rural Massachusetts in the mid-1800s, Dillard was a woman, over a hundred years later, in rural Roanoke, Virginia. She felt there was room enough in the world for a fresh take on natural life. And indeed she was quite correct. This isn't a "story" about a person starting Here and ending up There. It isn't even a series of essays, as some readers have mistakenly assumed. Instead, Dillard is clear that this is a cohesive piece, organized chronologically, building and expanding on previous experiences and then moving forward. Dillard is not only keen in her insight into what is before her, but also amazingly well read. She can find the relations between the water before her and the Eskimo traditions, between a barely visible creature and the quotes of scientists from decades ago. It's like sitting down at the side of a pond with your beloved aunt who has traveled the world, and hearing fascinating stories about how various bits of life relate to fascinating creatures far away. The book is poetry, and one focus here is that *life* is poetry. Everything around us is beautiful and terrible and will be gone in the blink of an eye. Turn your head too quickly and it will skitter off, never to be seen again. The roiling crimson beauty of a magnificent sunset will fade into a smoky grey, and no matter how many sunsets you watch after that, none will ever be quite the same. Is it "boring" to read about the fantastic myriad wonders that nature presents to us every day? That's an intriguing question. Somehow our world has trained us to be obsessively attentive when a movie-screen freight train barrels towards a stalled car, but to turn away uninterested when a double rainbow shimmers into existence over a lake. We stare down at our smartphone screen in dedicated frenzy when a Facebook post blings into existence, but we ignore the real live human being before us who we could learn so much from. We want a start, a middle, and an end. But nature goes on, always renewing, constantly restoring, and I think somewhere many of us have lost track of that. So, yes, settling in with Pilgrim at Tinker Creek is like settling into a favorite chair on your back porch, sipping a delicious glass of wine, and watching with fascination as the golden-winged dragonflies perform an intricate mating ritual. It is spellbinding, and soothing, and fascinating - but one has to want to slow down and pay attention. One needs to mute the TV, turn off the cell, and be willing to breathe in the natural world which is all around us. Well recommended. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ One of my favorites. *by A***J on August 19, 2014* Pilgrim at Tinker Creek is a strange book (I mean that in an entirely good, Pulitzer-prize winning sort of way). Your sense of nature around you will be not only sharpened but also simultaneously destroyed: Annie Dillard brings so much to your attention that any ordinary walk now seems like an adventure, filled with tiny events of huge importance that you are doubtless missing. This is a book about nature, and someone who loves nature and takes time to observe it. This book is, at its core, not so much a book as a journal: a journal written by someone who has learned to see all of life in the small things. Rather than being disconnected essays, as some have claimed, this book is an entire, living story. Annie Dillard writes about seeing with a sense of urgency, as if when you blink the entire, elaborate picture will have vanished. There is an ambition in this book to feel. You will be sucked in with no choice. There is no other writer who is so well able to tie tiny strands into a beautiful tapestry: especially when the tiny strands range from mountains to cicadas and locusts. This book is written in the revelry of experiencing creation bit by bit, leaf by leaf, muskrat by muskrat, mountain by mountain, galaxy by galaxy. But the writing is far from tedious. Rather, the sense of wonder — which you feel for an instant upon seeing something beautiful — is prolonged throughout the entire book. The book is balanced in two halves: a Yin-Yang sort of perspective on the world. The author calls these the via positiva and the via negativa: two routes to seeing God in creation: one in the world’s grand intricacy and beauty, and the other in the raw power that kills billions of insects each year. Both halves have a chapter which forms the high-water mark, each of which counterbalance the other. The chapter named “Seeing” is the mark of the via positiva, which is all wiped out in “Flood,” to begin the via negativa, which climaxes in “Northing.” You will never be able to take a ‘simple’ walk again (as if there is such a thing!). For both halves — the marvelous and the hideous — direct you to the glory of God’s creation. What is so exciting about this book is that it is not written from a ‘Christian’ perspective: faced with the glory of creation, Annie Dillard has no choice but to revel in the Creator and in His world. I highly recommend Pilgrim from Tinker Creek without reserve. It will challenge you. You will have a sharpened to the little things in creation. You will close the back cover and care a little bit more, which is absolutely a good thing. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Beautiful, Guided Imagery *by K***. on May 22, 2015* "I had been my whole life a bell, and never knew it until at that moment I was lifted and struck.” Annie Dillard writes to soothe. Her writing works as guided imagery, painting vivid scenes beautifully intertwined with the realms of nature and philosophy. A writer instructor had recommended this book as one of his favorites, and I can see why. It's lyrical yet undiluted. It's cerebral yet unpretentious. If you're looking for a book to calm your nerves, a reading to enjoy over a cup of Earl Gray, I would highly recommend Dillard. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.be/products/228170-pilgrim-at-tinker-creek-a-pulitzer-prize-winning-memoir-nature](https://www.desertcart.be/products/228170-pilgrim-at-tinker-creek-a-pulitzer-prize-winning-memoir-nature) --- *Product available on Desertcart Belgium* *Store origin: BE* *Last updated: 2026-09-30*