Barry Lopez Quotes

A collection of quotes by Barry Lopez.

Barry Lopez (1945-2020) was an American author, essayist, and environmentalist. He was born in Port Chester, New York, and grew up in California. Lopez was best known for his works exploring the relationship between human culture and the natural world, often focusing on the Arctic and other remote landscapes. His notable books include "Arctic Dreams," which won the National Book Award for Nonfiction, and "Of Wolves and Men." Lopez's writing reflected his deep commitment to environmental conservation and the ethical treatment of animals. His literary contributions continue to inspire readers to appreciate and protect the natural world.

I took several long walks in the Wright and adjacent Taylor

I took several long walks in the Wright and adjacent Taylor Valleys. I did not feel insignificant on these journeys, dwarfed or shrugged off by the land, but superfluous. It is a difficult landscape to enter, and to develop a rapport with. It is not inimical or hostile, but indifferent, utterly remote, even as you stand in it. The light itself is aloof.

Wisdom Life Nature Beauty Lanscape

Because you have seen something doesn't mean you can explain

Because you have seen something doesn't mean you can explain it. Differing interpretations will always abound, even when good minds come to bear. The kernel of indisputable information is a dot in space; interpretations grow out of the desire to make this point a line, to give it direction. The directions in which it can be sent, the uses to which it can be put by a culturally, professionally, and geographically diverse society are almost without limit. The possibilities make good scientists chary.

Over the years, one comes to measure a place, too, not just

Over the years, one comes to measure a place, too, not just for the beauty it may give, the balminess of its breezes, the insouciance and relaxation it encourages, the sublime pleasures it offers, but for what it teaches. The way in which it alters our perception of the human. It is not so much that you want to return to indifferent or difficult places, but that you want to not forget.

Beauty Learning Travel Meditation Landscape Enlightenment

We simply do not understand our place in the universe and ha

We simply do not understand our place in the universe and have not the courage to admit it.