Erik Buckingham                                                       approximately 150 words

ekb7@geneseo.edu

INTD 105: Science Writing

“Whisper of the Wild” Summary and Analysis

By: Erik Buckingham

            In “Whisper of the Wild,” Kim Tingley explores Denali National Park, searching for an area containing non-human made sound. This human-less sound that she searches for is an integral part of a popular new study called soundscape ecology. She states the sounds that we can find in nature without human interference include the “tiny gurgle of an ice cave” and “an escalating rumble of an avalanche.”

Sound catcher David Betchkal states in “Whisper of the Wilderness” that we have to learn how to produce sounds of nature ourselves before we appreciate them, such as the “krrrp krrrrp” sound of wood frogs. This reminded me of when I played the saxophone. My teacher would make us produce the sounds that the instrument made before we actually blew into the instrument. I think that this experience would intertwine with Betchkal’s in a writing piece in that we both are trying to produce sounds that traditionally come from non-humans/objects.