Liminal Lands: Foraging the Margins of Human Habitation

It stands to reason that writings on ‘sense of place’ focus on where people live. This monograph, however, respectfully turns its back on peopled environments in order to consider marginal lands-where the living ain’t easy and the inhabitants few. Geography matters, indeed, limits, molds, colors human life, determines sensibilities. Following a heuristic thread laid down by social anthropologist Victor Turner, the authors tap into the concept of liminality to scout out a path through landscape, geographic essence, liminaires, aesthetics, the sacred, hierophanticy, back country as wellspring, liminoids, and our counterfeit self. The authors source two case studies in their own backyards: Lockwood’s Northwest Coast of Canada and Quillien’s Four Corners of the American Southwest.