Nature and nowness under lockdown

“Death”, wrote Saul Bellow in his acclaimed novel Humboldt's Gift, “is the dark backing a mirror needs if we are to see anything”. 45 years have elapsed since he wrote these words, but they have surely never carried more weight. As we reel, stunned and awestruck, through the COVID-19 pandemic, the menace of death has inspired a profound attentiveness to—and gratitude for—the simplest moments of life. Amid the soaring death tolls, it has felt at...