Naked in the Woods by Joseph Knowles | Joseph Knowles and the Legacy of Frontier Fakery

Naked in the Woods: Joseph Knowles and the Legacy of Frontier Fakery

March 18, 2008 6:52 pm Nadia Culture, Environment, Literature, People

Naked in the Woods Explores One Man’s Quest In The Wilderness
Joseph Knowles | Jim Motavalli
Everyone loves a good sensational story. What’s even better is a story about someone pulling off an enormous feat, and doing it without clothes.

Jim Motavalli, author of Naked in the Woods: Joseph Knowles and the Legacy of Frontier Fakery, tells the story of self-instructed artist Joseph Knowles and his journey into the Maine wilderness.

The Story of Joseph Knowles

Knowles left in August of 1913 with essentially no clothing and a desire to prove man could “live off the land.”

He sent word of his existence to the Boston Post, which published his charcoal messages and sketches written on birch bark, every Sunday. When Knowles came back to civilization two months later, he was so popular that 200,000 fans in Boston came to welcome him home.

Rival publication Boston American claimed Knowles faked it, so he took up their challenge to repeat the ordeal at the California-Oregon border for the San Francisco Examiner.

Modern Anxieties and How to Fake Being a Frontiersman

Acccording to the division of Perseus Books called Da Capo Press, Motavalli captures the fear of society during the early 1900s as people moved from the country to the city. “People nowadays are feeling more overworked and alienated from the natural world than ever,” sources state in a press release, “and the success of Jon Krakauer’s bestselling book Into the Wild (now a major motion picture) illustrates how that popular message of Knowles’ time still echoes in our society today.”

Naked in the Woods also focuses on a more untold aspect of frontier tales – faking it. Motavalli says that Knowles, along with Davy Crockett and other famous frontiersman, probably faked at least some of their adventures.

Motavalli’s examination of Knowles and his publicity stunt brings up a good question, which is still being argued: did he really do what he says he did? When Green Eggs and Planet receives the new book, we’ll put our thoughts down to paper and publish a follow-up book review.

Stay tuned….

Copyright 2008 Matty Byloos