Annie Dillard is an American writer born on April 30, 1945 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her autobiography entitled An American Childhood (1987) thoroughly details her childhood during which she was heavily inspired by the creativity of her parents. They raised her to be an avid learner, and she eventually received a degree in literature and creative writing at Hollins College. During her years at university, Dillard was motivated by authors such as Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Woolf, and Thomas Hardy.
In 1982, Dillard published a book, Teaching a Stone to Talk, a series of fourteen essays that recount a significant moment or event that the author has experienced in her life. Many of these essays deal with themes of religion or spirituality amongst the backdrops of various locations across the world. The settings span from the Galapagos to Ecuador to the Appalachian Mountains. Throughout this novel, the reader follows Dillard upon a long-winding physical and mental journey.
Upon its publication, Teaching a Stone to Talk received mixed to positive reviews; some critics lauded the subject matter of the novel while others disliked the elementary style of her writing. Kirkus Reviews described the work as a “collection of meditations like polished stones-painstakingly worded, tough-minded yet partial to Mystery, and peerless when it comes to injecting larger resonances into the natural world.” Despite the mixed reactions to the book, Teaching A Stone to Talk by Annie Dillard will elicit strong feelings from any reader who attempts this piece.
