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Add this copy of A Track to the Water's Edge: the Olive Schreiner Reader to cart. $48.00, fair condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1973 by HarperCollins Publishers.
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Add this copy of A Track to the Water's Edge: the Olive Schreiner Reader to cart. $130.05, new condition, Sold by GridFreed rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from North Las Vegas, NV, UNITED STATES, published 1973 by New York, Harper & Row [.
Throughout his career, the African American theologian, philosopher, and mystic Howard Thurman (1899 -- 1980) drew inspiration from a seemingly unlikely source, the South African novelist and feminist Olive Schreiner (1855 -- 1920). Schreiner is best remembered today for her first novel, "The Story of an African Farm" (1883) with its strongly feminist themes. She was an unlikely source of inspiration for Thurman because as a white woman in South Africa she was not free of the prejudices of her place and time.
In spite of these differences, Thurman referred to Schreiner many times in his writings and teachings. In 1973, late in his life, Thurman fulfilled a long-term project by publishing "A Track to the Water's Edge: The Olive Schreiner Reader", a selection of excerpts from Schreiner's writings that had meant the most to Thurman over the years. Thurman's title is drawn from a parable of Schreiner in her book "Dreams", as a seeker undertakes a solitary journey "to a far land which no one has ever reached". She makes a visionary "track to the water's edge" over the bodies of many predecessors to bring humanity to the enlightenment across the river. Thurman had made his own "track to the water's edge" and shared this vision with Schreiner.
In his lengthy introduction, Thurman discusses his long fascination with Schreiner even with his differences. He sees in Schreiner a strong spirituality which transcends Christianity or any other creed and which suggests the unity of humanity, of life and of being. In that context, Thurman also discusses Schreiner's pacifism and her feminism. Schreiner is best known today as a first-wave feminist and it is valuable to see her work placed in a broader context. Thurman tells the reader that many of the selections in the book have "nourished my spirit in strange and defiant ways". He encourages the reader to find in the anthology "that which speaks to his condition and gives wings to his mind and heart."
The book consists of selections from seven of Screiner's works which, with the exception of "The Story of an African Farm" tend not to be well known. The selections helped me understand Thurman's works and they also introduced me to Schreiner in her own right. She writes in a beautifully poetic, idiosyncratic, and Victorian way with a strong sense of parable and mystery. I was moved by the breadth and passion of her work and understood the sources of its attraction to Howard Thurman.
Here is a passage which in Thurman's words gave wings to my mind and heart. It is drawn from a parable called "The Buddhist Priest's Wife" in which a woman speaks of the beauty of being loved and wanted, even when the desire cannot be returned. Thurman often used the "crown" figure in the quotation below as applying to an individual's quest for God and for the spiritual life.
"I do not like to talk of any man who has loved me. However small and poor his nature may be, he has given me his best. There is nothing ridiculous in love. I think a woman should feel that all the love men have given her which she has not been able to return is a kind of crown set up above her which she is always trying to grow tall enough to wear. I can't bear to think that all the love that has been given me has been wasted on something unworthy of it. If a man tells you he loves you with his breast uncovered before you for you to strike him if you will, the least you can do is to put out your hand and to cover it up from other people's eyes." (p. 135)
I learned a great deal about Thurman and about Schreiner from this book. Unfortunately, Thurman's anthology is difficult to find in print, but it has been digitalized. Among many other things, the literary relationship between Thurman and Schreiner shows how much may be learned with an open mind and heart from an unexpected source.
