Artistry of Hunger: Desire and Appetite in Desert Solitaire

A r t is t r y o f H u n g e r : D e s ir e a n d A p p e tite in D e s e r t S o l it a ir e J o y K e n n e d y S im p ly b re a th in g , in a p lace like this, aro u ses th e ap p e tite. — E dw ard A bbey, D esert Solitaire O T h e d esert, a c c o rd in g to E d w a rd A b b e y in D esert Solitaire, is a la n d sc a p e o f “c o n s u m m a tio n ” a n d “fu lfillm en t” : p re d a to r feeds o n p re y , p la n t g ro w th clings ten acio u sly in d ry crevices, a n d h u m a n o b serv ers m u st alw ay s b e a w a re o f th e ir o w n survival (113). In D esert Solitaire A b b e y d escrib es lite ral h u n g e r, like his ra v e n o u s p a in s o n th e co w trail w ith R o y S co b ie, a n d also uses a m e ta p h o ric a l la n g u a g e o f h u n g e r to d esc rib e p la c e a n d d esire. T h ro u g h o u t his n a rra tiv e , fo o d im ag es su rface u n e x p e c te d ly in d ep ictio n s o f lan d sc a p e . A p p e tite a n d d esire b e c o m e in te rtw in e d in a sy n esth esia o f aw aren ess. A lth o u g h R o b ert Ridges, Snake drum . His gourd art is sprinkled throughout this essay. JOY K EN N ED Y 4 0 3 A b b e y re m a rk s th a t h e w a n ts to d escrib e th e d e se rt w ith o u t th e b u r ­ d en s o f p e rso n ific atio n a n d m e ta p h o r, his b est successes a re b y u sin g cu ltu rally d e te rm in e d m e ta p h o rs. E v e n in g lig h t colors c a n y o n w alls in h u e s o f “h o n e y ” a n d “w h isk ey ” (200). T h e su n sets like a “celestial p iz z a [p ie]” (299). T h e love fo r w ild ern ess, A b b e y tells us, is “a h u n g e r fo r w h a t is alw ays b e y o n d re a c h ” (190). W h ile m a n y critics h av e c o n ­ c e n tra te d o n this u n iq u e d esire fo r lan d sc a p e , v ery few , if an y , h av e lo o k ed a t A b b e y ’s fo o d m e ta p h o rs c o u p le d w ith th is h u n g e r fo r p lace. T h e se im ag es h elp p ro p e l A b...