Diane Ackerman

Diane Ackerman (born October 7, 1948) is an American author, poet, and naturalist known best for her work A Natural History of the Senses. Her writing style, referring to her best-selling natural history books, can best be described as a blend of poetry, colloquial history, and easy-reading science. She has taught at various universities, including Columbia and Cornell, and her essays regularly appear in distinguished popular and literary journals.

7 Quotes

It began in mystery, and it will end in mystery, but what a savage and beautiful country lies in between.

Diane Ackerman

I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I have just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.

Diane Ackerman

Everyone admits that love is wonderful and necessary, yet no one agrees on just what it is.

Diane Ackerman

A poem records emotions and moods that lie beyond normal language, that can only be patched together and hinted at metaphorically.

Diane Ackerman

We live on the leash of our senses.

Diane Ackerman

There is no way in which to understand the world without first detecting it through the radar-net of our senses.

Diane Ackerman

like a global terrarium, cutthroat, tart and self-absorbed.

Diane Ackerman