Two Hot Weeks in August and Muskgrass Chara

Ryan Hoke’s “Two Hot Weeks in August” and Kathleen Dean Moore’s piece “Muskgrass Chara” go incredibly well together, so much so that it feels like a happy accident that we are tasked with reading both on the same day. The primary feeling at play here is the use of sensory description, which, while generally limited to smell in Moore’s piece, is still prevalent enough to make sensory feeling the main idea. Ryan delves into smell a bit in the beginning (“the smell of freshly cut grass welcomes you as you arrive”) but uses other senses to help the essay live up to its name. The feeling of the humidity and pain is especially prominent. I prefer Ryan’s due to him not only focusing on one sense but trying to include all of them in a way that isn’t immediately obvious.