College dean shares themes of latest work

Brie, crackers and Green Desire filled the intimate Fireside Lounge in the Arch Building as students and faculty gathered around author, scholar, professor and College Dean Rebecca Bushnell.

As the first speaker of the Penn Authors Forum sponsored by the Perspectives in Humanities program, Dean Bushnell spoke about her writing process and the themes of her recently published Green Desire: Imagining Early Modern English Gardens.

The Authors Forum, brought back after a three-year absence, is a chance for "Penn faculty members who have been recently published to talk about their books and engage in academic discussion," said event organizer and Perspectives in Humanities manager Monica Park.

"I thought Bushnell would be a wonderful person to have join us," the College sophomore continued. "Not only is she the new dean, but her new book has sparked a lot of interest."

Indeed, Bushnell's book, her fourth, has been her best-seller.

"Each book comes from the previous one," Bushnell said. "You become impatient to finish one so you can start on the next one."

Green Desire, which discusses 16th and 17th century gardening, sprung from her previous book about teaching in 16th and 17th century England, which she added with a wry smile, "came out of a book, interestingly enough, about tyranny."

In Green Desire, Bushnell discusses 16th and 17th century English "how-to" gardening guides.

"They are so full of dreams," she said. "I was astonished by the quality of writing and the themes of Renaissance high literature."

While deciding on her theme came easily, the writing proved difficult.

"I don't recommend juggling a 60 to 70 hour a week job while writing a book," Bushnell said.

Bushnell, who was serving as associate dean of Arts and Letters at the time she was writing Green Desire, took a two and a half month sabbatical for the project. Several challenges confronted her, she said.

When writing on an unfamiliar topic, "you always run the risk of making a jackass of yourself -- and I have," Bushnell said. Nevertheless, she recommends it.

"I've been able to incorporate this into my teaching," she said of the research she conducted.

Another challenge was writing a book people would want to read.

"You're probably thinking, 'What is she, nuts?'" Bushnell said of her topic. "I wanted to create something that would speak to scholars and to my stepmother [a gardener]," she said.

But, "how do you write a book like that?" she asked.

Her solution: to tell a story "powerfully driven by the desires of the gardeners."

As she writes in her introduction, they are "books of what might be as much as what is."

The "gardeners are full of confidence that they can make their plants do anything they want," she added. "They know damn well that they can't."

Bushnell's book sparked lively debate among the audience, and many stayed behind to continue the discussion.

"It seemed weird at first to be talking about gardens," said College freshman Brandon Whittaker, "But once she started relating it to the social structure of society it was very interesting."

"I intend on purchasing the book," he added.

College senior Jennifer Machiaverna, a resident adviser in the PIH program, was especially pleased that the Authors Forum was being brought back.

"It's a really good tradition," she said. "It gives students a good idea of the work that's going on at Penn."

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