It was 1970, and people were dropping out in droves.
Wood stoves were replacing electric heat, milk cartons were
transforming wax into candles. Someone noted that more pottery was
created during the ’70s than during the history of mankind –
perhaps an exaggeration. One of the gurus for back-to-the-landers
30 years ago was a woman who named herself Alicia Bay Laurel. Then
19, she lived on a California commune, and after collecting country
lore, she hand wrote and illustrated a book, Living on the
Earth. Now her hippie how-to book has been reissued so
that once again it invites contemporary malcontents and vicarious
readers to make almost everything from scratch. That means jerky
from game you shoot yourself, soap from ingredients you stir for
hours, patchwork quilts from upholstery samples and remnants.
Nothing goes to waste in her world; everything yields to human
ingenuity as long as there’s time enough to fiddle. Bay Laurel also
doesn’t shrink from life’s inevitabilities. Her simple recipe for
forest cremation: “Make a pyre of wood, lay the body on top, pour
on kerosene and lots of incense. Burning bodies don’t smell so
good.” Bay Laurel’s was the first paperback to out-sell hardcover
books, says her publisher. It recalls a time when rural America was
the destination for those seeking to create a life free of
materialism and full of joy. If you didn’t live through that
decade, no problem; Bay Laurel will still bathe you in
nostalgia.
Living on the
Earth, Villard Books, 201 East 50th St., New York, NY
10022 (212/572-2870), $16.95, 224
pages.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline We can do it ourselves.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
