Abstract
For more than one hundred years, writers and artists have interpreted the beauty and power of Big Sur. No artist has done so more enduringly than Robinson Jeffers, whose writing helped define a land ethic for this prized California coastline. To a degree greater than any other private individual, and arguably more than any single county, state, or federal land manager, Jeffers can be credited with shaping perceptions and attitudes regarding the appropriate treatment of the Big Sur landscape. The iconic beauty of Big Sur has long been celebrated in advertisements and portrayals of the California coast, luring millions of visitors each year from around the world. Despite experiencing similar tourist pressures as the nation’s federal parks, Big Sur is neither a national park or a developed residential coastline. Its residents have worked with county and state officials to codify a unique public/private preservation approach that protects the beauty that the outside world has come to expect in Big Sur, while also protecting a way of life for those who call this coast home. Though formal preservation of the Big Sur coastline was never an explicit goal of Jeffers, he helped shape how people thought of their responsibility to this land as modern innovations made possible more exploitative relationships. At the heart of Big Sur’s successful preservation model are two key ideas laid out in Jeffers’ work: that Big Sur’s exceptionally beautiful landscape is worthy of thoughtful treatment, and that people belong here, not just as visitors but as inhabitants.
Recommended Citation
Brooks, Shelley Alden
(2018)
"Preserving Jeffers Country,"
Jeffers Studies: Vol. 20, Article 2.
Available at:
https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/js/vol20/iss1/2