Genius Loci

Brian mentioned the concept of Genius loci last week, a notion I've been playing with for several years (in the context of thinking about how to think about photographing places as we traveled, notion being that every place has a something that defines and animates it, supposedly accessible if one takes the time and has the eyes... a pretty grand challenge to the photographer/traveler).

Some google-hunting turns up interesting facets of the concept:

• (figuratively) The spirit or atmosphere of a place, especially conceived as a source of artistic inspiration
  Wiktionary

• A Genius Loci is a location with a mind. A sentient planet, country, island, city, or street... The name comes from the Latin for "spirit of a place", originally a location's protective guardian spirit. To refer to "spirits of places", or multiple locations, each with their own guardian spirit, the correct pluralization is Genii Locorum. For "spirits of a place", or a place inhabited by a Mind Hive, the correct term is Genii Loci. For a "spirit of places", such as an omnipresent being inhabiting many disconnected lands, the term is Genius Locorum...
  tvtropes.org

• A genius loci is difficult to spot, since it looks like any other section of landscape. A genius loci itself has no intelligence, but rather "emulates" the sentience of any creature it currently enslaves...
  d20srd.org

• NB:
  forthcoming Jan 3 2023: Genius Loci: An Essay on the Meanings of Place John Dixon Hunt (U. Chicago Press)

  Genius Loci: ecological landscape design (a Vermont consultancy)

  Genius Loci as a Meta-Concept Marilena Vecco

  This research presents an analysis of the concept of genius loci over time. It aims to trace its evolution to provide its deeper understanding as a meta-concept. To this end, a holistic approach - including psychic, physical and human components - is taken to address its double nature of being both a reality and an entity. Genius loci is the intangible quality of a material place, perceived both physically and spiritually. It reveals itself through visible tangible and perceivable non-material features. It is also made known by underlying processes, because genius loci is a signifier of a process that is happening and cannot intentionally be created. It is significant in terms of being both the mediator and medium of social interactions. (I have the txt of the rest of this article)

As I scan the shelves, I find quite a few books that address or snuggle up to the concept:

• Maine

  The Country of the Pointed Firs and other stories Sarah Orne Jewett 1925

  The Peninsula Louise Dickinson Rich 1958

  Beside the St. George's: Maine Forgotten Ways Luthera Burton Dawson 1993

  The Lobster Coast: Rebels, Rusticators, and the Struggle for a Forgotten Frontier Colin Woodard 2004

  Islands in Time: a natural and cultural history of the islands of Maine Philip W Conkling and Peter Ralston 2011

  Along the Archipelago: essays and observations Philip Conkling 2012

  Vacationland: true stories from painful beaches John Hodgman 2017

• other New England

  Time in New England Paul Strand and Nancy Newhall 1950

  Sightseeking: clues to the landscape history of New England Christopher J Lenney 2003

  The Path: a one-mile walk through the universe Chet Raymo 2003

• Nova Scotia and Newfoundland

  My Name is Legion: foundations for a theory of man in relation to culture Alexander H. Leighton 1959 (Vol 1 of The Sterling County Study of psychiatric disorder and sociocultural environment) and People of Cove and Woodlot: communities from the viewpoint of social psychiatry Leighton et al. 1960 (Vol 2 of the Sterling County Study)

  This Rock Within the Sea: a heritage lost Farley Mowat 1976

  Merging: contemplations on farming and ecology from horseback Soren Bondrup Nielsen 2014

• North America generally

  Blue Highways: a journey into America 1982, PrairyErth: a deep map 1999, and Roads to Quoz: an American mosey 2008, all by William Least Heat Moon

  Grassland: the history, biology, politics, and promise of the American prairie Richard Manning 1995

and this from Monhegan: