On Kim Todd, “Chrysalis”

January 8, 2007 in Literature

by Jay Stevens 

Here’s a personal revelation, something that might surprise the two people who picked 4&20 blackbirds as Montana’s “best written” blog: my wife is the real writer in the family.

Her name is Kim Todd, and today marks the release of her latest book, Chrysalis, Maria Sibylla Merian and the Secrets of Metamorphosis.

Maybe I’m biased – no, I’m definitely biased – but I think Kim’s an extraordinary writer. H*ll, that’s one of the reasons I married her…

Just like her first book — Tinkering With Eden, about the introduction of exotic species to North America – Kim, in Chrysalis, writes about not so much about Nature, but about our very human encounters with it, and how that shapes both nature and our own essential humanity.

In Tinkering, for example, the stories of introduction are as much about the people who introduced them as they are about the species and their effects on our environment. French aristocrats, for example, brought doves to the Canadian colonies as a symbol of their feudal privileges; those doves escaped and became pigeons. Or, a New York City chemical magnate released starlings into his city in an effort to introduce all the birds mentioned in Shakespeare to Central Park; he belonged to a society dedicated to “beautify” the rugged and savage American wilderness with European flora and fauna. As an entirety, the book is ultimately a history of our perception of Nature, and the evolution of that perception.

Merian, as depicted in Chrysalis, lived in a “plastic” era of burgeoning ideas concerning science and society. She was able to buck tradition and apply the artistic skills she learned in her family’s print and art shops to a new field of science, and eventually pay her own way to South America to study insects. Merian’s story is as much about a woman seizing an opportunity for self-discovery and self-sufficiency as it is a story about the early scientific movement. In a parallel narrative, Kim, relates our changing perception of metamorphosis itself, from early Greek and Roman days to the present, as if in our dynamic understanding of our surroundings also lies a glimpse of the evolution of our self-understanding.

Kim’s writing is hardly “academic” – both books are considered “pop” environmental works, which belittles Kim’s poetic voice and the application of the new creative nonfiction style that uses fictional tools to enhance the narrative of works of nonfiction.

I recommend both books.

But don’t take my word for it, check out some of the early reviews…

Kirkus Reviews:

An extraordinary portrait of an artist and amateur naturalist who explored the teeming life of the Amazon and helped lay the groundwork for our present-day understanding of ecology.

Daughter of a prominent Frankfurt publisher of illustrated books, Maria Sibylla Merian (1647–1717) mastered the art of drawing and engraving while studying the metamorphosis of silkworms. She went on to paint the larvae of butterflies and moths and to raise important questions about the role of intermediate life forms.

With a detective’s eye, PEN/Jerard Fund Award–winner Todd (Tinkering with Eden, 2001) has pieced together the life of this neglected genius who charted the micro-world of insects. While male contemporaries considered a species in isolation, Merian looked at its relationship to the environment, its sensitivity to change and its long-term survival strategies. Todd gives equal time to Merian’s own metamorphosis. The artist abandoned her husband and took up residence in an austere Pietist community in the Netherlands. She sold her paintings to support her mother and her daughters. She befriended naturalists, scientists and collectors in Amsterdam during its Golden Age, produced a popular book on caterpillars and at age 52 set off for the Amazon to document new species and collect snakes, iguanas and geckos for resale back home. Merian sold everything to finance her journey, braving tarantulas and yellow fever to produce a landmark work. After her death, Peter the Great purchased her paintings and field notes, which later languished in vaults until long after the Russian revolution. European publishers pirated her prints and displayed them out of order, misrepresenting her main ideas.

Todd’s long overdue re-examination of Merian’s work shows the extent of her scientific contributions and reminds us how much of our early understanding of biology depended on the keen eye of the amateur. This bold, wide-ranging text also considers the theological view of metamorphosis, the controversy over spontaneous generation, Merian’s connection to other accomplished women of her day, her opposition to slavery in Surinam and her reliance on Amerindians to bring her specimens. A breathtaking example of scholarship and storytelling, enriched by ample illustrations of Merian’s work.

Booklist:

Todd…emulates Merian’s richly contextual approach in her vivid descriptions of every facet of her subject’s vibrant world as she insightfully chronicles Merian’s extraordinary life…Todd’s discerning analysis and deep appreciation resurrect Merian and reclaim her still vital achievements, ensuring that Merian will stand as the resourceful and courageous visionary she truly was.

Library Journal:

Todd’s writing itself is lush, almost poetic, whether she is describing the science of metamorphosis or Merian’s own personal metamorphoses throughout her life.

You get the idea.

There are a bunch of readings coming up, but I think this dang post is already long enough. I’ll post Kim’s schedule when reading times draw closer…