Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard - Rerun

In light of the death of Annie Dillard, we are revisiting our discussion of her Pulitzer Prize-winning classic Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. First published in 1974, when Dillard was still in her twenties, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Non-Fiction the following year. A landmark work of nature writing, observation and spiritual enquiry, it established Dillard as one of the most distinctive voices in American literature. Joining us are writers Jay Griffiths and Geoff Dyer, both making their Backlisted debuts in the original episode. Griffiths is the author of Wild: An Elemental Journey and, most recently, How Animals Heal Us, published in paperback in 2026. Dyer’s books include The Last Days of Roger Federer and his recent memoir Homework, an account of his childhood and adolescence in postwar England. Also in this episode, Andy has been reading Pages from the Goncourt Journals, a gossip-rich glimpse into 19th-century French literary life, which has a foreword by Geoff Dyer, while John talks about the life and work of John Donne through Katherine Rundell’s acclaimed biography Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne. * To purchase any of the books mentioned in this episode please visit our bookshop at uk.bookshop.org/shop/backlisted where all profits help to sustain this podcast and UK independent bookshops. * For information about everything mentioned in this episode visit www.backlisted.fm *If you'd like to support the show and join in with the book chat, listen without adverts, receive the show early and with extra bonus fortnightly episodes and exclusive writing, become a Patreon at www.patreon.com/backlisted *You can sign up to our free monthly newsletter here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices