BEHIND THE BOOK
In the Crosswinds: Birds, Humans, and the Paradox of Place
A CONVERSATION WITH ELI J. KNAPP
We sat down with ecologist and avid birder Eli J. Knapp to talk about his latest quest to rediscover how we connect with the natural world. In the face of restlessness and rootlessness, Knapp looked to the birds of the world—creatures that are at once migratory and deeply connected to place—for insight and understanding. We're thrilled that In the Crosswinds is out in the world!
Torrey House Press (Quinn Luthy, 2024 Environmental Humanities Fellow): Hi Eli! Thank you so much for sitting down for an interview with me, I can’t wait to talk about In the Crosswinds. Books like this one make us so grateful to do what we do. In the Crosswinds is absolutely the kind of book that deserves to exist in the world, and we are so grateful and honored that you’ve trusted us with your writing. Can you tell us a bit about the inspiration behind the book? What are your hopes and dreams for In the Crosswinds once it’s published?
Eli Knapp: Bird people love bird stories. And everybody loves stories we see ourselves in–those where a protagonist wrestles with the basic questions we all have. Where do we fit? What does it mean to know a place? Can immigrants belong like those who’ve come before? How do we reconcile our love of travel with a love of rootedness? These are the threads that In the Crosswinds explores, all through the lens of birds, who travel the world yet also know a small portion of it intimately.
Torrey House Press: Why did you choose to publish In the Crosswinds with us?
Eli Knapp: Torrey House Press is predicated on strong relationships to land, wildlife, and each other. In the Crosswinds explores these relationships in all their senses, making THP an ideal fit. I have grown up with Torrey’s incredible people, and they have helped my writing mature. They have reigned me in, spurred me on, and riddled our meetings with laughter. Plus, Torrey people are fighting for what matters most: how we treat each other, the planet, and all who lack voices.
Torrey House Press: Thank you so much Eli! One of the most important things that we’ve tried to do (and that, may I say…we have done) throughout our fifteen years as a publisher is to cultivate a dedicated audience who cares about literature, advocacy, and the environment as much as we do. On that note, what do you hope readers will come away with after reading In the Crosswinds?
Eli Knapp: This is not a how-to book or a scolding book of imperatives. If readers come away with a deeper desire to know the wonder-filled world outside their doorstep, and realize their feelings of land estrangement are held by others, then I’ve met my goal. Plus, I want the words themselves, the way they flow and connect and surprise, to bring my readers joy.
Torrey House Press: We all love how you balance beautiful writing, humor, and a quest for belonging throughout In the Crosswinds, we can’t wait to share it with readers! If you could put a copy of In the Crosswinds into the hands of anybody in the world who would it be and why?
Eli Knapp: Everyone of Eurocolonial ancestry; we johnny-come-latelys who lack Indigeneity. We didn’t choose this place and yet here we are. How do we know it like those who came before, like those who are still here? Can we? What do we do with residual feelings of guilt and a desire to live better?
"This book is the third in a thematic series; my first explored wonder, the second considered loss, and this one seeks the concept of place, how our sense of wonder and loss coexist in particularity to the places we inhabit."
—ELI J. KNAPP
Torrey House Press: The questions that you bring up are so vital, especially considering how settler-descendent people have changed and imposed their own relations with the land, plants, animals, and (especially in reference to your book) birds. This is perhaps sacrilegious to ask a bird person, but do you have a favorite bird? Why? Is there a bird sighting that has stuck with you over the years?
Eli Knapp: The Common Loon. Other than its name and predictable presence on lakes in the north country, nothing about the loon is common. It swims, dives, flies, and if pressed, can scoot about on terra firme. It raises young on floating mats of vegetation, embraces liminality, and carries its vulnerable loonlets along on its back. Its eye, which locks onto darting fish, is as red as the purest ruby. And nothing—NOTHING—is better than falling asleep to the haunting cry of a loon.
While I’ve spied many a loon up close from a canoe, a bird sighting I treasure even more involved a dainty little bird with a yellow yarmulke and cinnamon suspenders—a Chestnut-sided Warbler. Standing waist high in goldenrod, I spied one on the nadir of a droopy powerline. I was twelve-years-old, knobby-kneed, and had no idea what it was. But I raced home and found it in my Golden Guide. That was the moment I realized how much I was missing. It gave me new eyes. That little warbler changed my life.
Torrey House Press: Thank you Eli! We are huge fans of the Common Loon over here too, they are such vital birds to love. We have been lucky to publish a couple of your bird-centric books over the years, including The Delightful Horror of Family Birding, and Dead Serious. Does In the Crosswinds comment or expand upon any of these books? What would you say you want to accomplish through your books?
Eli Knapp: Indeed! This book is the third in a thematic series; my first explored wonder, the second considered loss, and this one—the final installment—seeks the concept of place, how our sense of wonder and loss coexist in particularity to the places we inhabit.
Torrey House Press: We hope that this isn’t your final book! That being said, reading your Torrey House Press books as a series that explores relationships with the more-than-human world adds so much meaning to each one. We are curious to hear what your relationship with writing is like? How did you develop your voice and style?
Eli Knapp: Writing is a portal by which I visit other worlds. Time dissolves and I melt into a blessed labyrinth of memories and possibility. It is my cost-effective therapy, structuring my thoughts, focusing my dreams, and sharpening my focus. The axiom is true: the writer lives twice. My voice and style evolved organically and boils down to a cliche: Be myself. Don’t try to mimic the writers I hold dear. With this rudder in place, I’ve let my inner zaniness loose. Though I haven’t envied their task, my deft Torrey House editors have proven readily capable of guiding me to safe harbor.
Torrey House Press: Can you tell us a little bit about the process of writing In the Crosswinds? Is there any advice that you would like to share with aspiring authors?
Eli Knapp: Crosswinds are winds that blow across one’s direction of travel. This book hatched during the pandemic and midlife, two forces that impeded my journey. With forced isolation and an aging, recalcitrant body, I needed a safe haven, a port, a real, physical place of attachment. My initial manuscript looks nothing like the end product, and that’s a good thing. I found a port, many ports actually, and realized how much there is to learn in the crosswinds. My advice is this: Talk to your editor. Sometimes it simply takes another person to show you how to tack upwind. Then, keep writing. Don’t bail out. There’s always a way to cross a seemingly unnavigable gulf.
Torrey House Press: Lovely, Eli. We hope that your work continues to inspire aspiring writers. Now for the readers! If you could ask every reader to do one thing after reading In the Crosswinds, what would you ask them?
Eli Knapp: Build an owl house. Trust me.
Torrey House Press: Thank you so much Eli! Here is a delightful link with instructions for building an owl house. We hope that all of our readers get the chance to delight in the gentle breezes of In the Crosswinds, thank you so much for reading!
