Sally Carrighar
Sally Carrighar was an influential American naturalist and nature writer, born in Ohio in 1898 as the eldest of five children. After the early death of her father, she was inspired by his teachings about curiosity and the importance of embracing life. This foundational belief propelled her to explore the natural world extensively, honing her skills as a keen observer of wildlife. Carrighar is celebrated for her ability to create vivid, detailed narratives of nature that often focus solely on animals and their environments, avoiding human characters entirely.
Her notable works include "Icebound Summer," inspired by her decade-long experiences in the Arctic, and "One Day on Beetle Rock," which reflects her observations in Sequoia National Park. Another prominent piece, "The Twilight Seas," chronicles the life journey of a blue whale. Additionally, Carrighar's creative talents extended to writing for film and radio. She continued to impact the field of nature writing until her passing in 1985, leaving behind a legacy of sensitivity toward the natural world.
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Subject Terms
Sally Carrighar
Writer
- Born: February 10, 1898
- Birthplace: Cleveland, Ohio
- Died: October 1, 1985
- Place of death: Carmel, California
Biography
Sally Carrighar was the eldest of five children born to a musician mother and a railroad engineer father in Ohio in 1898. Her father died in a Lake Erie storm at the age of twenty-eight, leaving his wife to raise their five children alone. Before he passed away, however, Carrighar’s father had taught her (as she would later relate in her autobiography, Home to the Wilderness) “that girls and women reached out for life eagerly and that it was natural for them to be interested in absolutely everything.” As a result of that driving curiosity, Carrighar traveled widely and developed her skills as an attentive observer of animal behavior in natural habitats. She went on to become a respected naturalist and one of the world’s most successful nature writers, known for her ability to weave intricate details of the natural environment into accessible narratives that often did not contain any human characters.
With the help of a Guggenheim Fellowship for fieldwork in the Arctic, Carrighar spent ten years living in the far north—an experience that led to such works as Icebound Summer and Wild Voice of the North. Among her other most popular works are One Day on Beetle Rock, the product of seven years spent observing Beetle Rock in California’s Sequoia National Park, as well as The Twilight Seas, a tale that follows the life of a blue whale from its birth to its tragic end. Although best known for her nature writing, Sally Carrighar also wrote for movies and radio during her long and prolific career. She died in 1985.