Gary Snyder’s Ecopoetry and Ecopoetics

秦夢(mèng)茵

【Abstract】This thesis aims to investigate the overall relationship between ecology and Gary Snyders poetry and poetics. The American poet Gary Snyder， known as one of the Beat Generation， draws attention to the healing and recuperation while the others overthrow and reject everything. Snyder is also regarded as the Poet Laureate of deep ecology for his great contribution to deep ecology movement.

【Key words】Gary Snyder ；Ecopoetry；Ecopoetics

1.Snyders Poetry of Bioregion

The definition as well as the meaning of bioregion has been made clear in chapter. This section focuses on the analysis of Gary Snyders poetry on bioregion. As Snyder explains， “There are tens of millions of people in North America who were physically born here but who are not actually living here intellectually， imaginatively， or morally”（Snyder， “The Practice of the Wild” 40）. However， they find themselves lack of skills necessary to live in this place. Therefore， it is essential for people to regain the knowledge that our society has too long considered useless.

It is a “war against earth./ When its done therell be /no place//A coyote could hide”（Snyder， “Turtle Island” 23）. The tone of this poem is discouraging and disappointed with the lack of respect humans have for nonhuman world.

2.Strategies of Ecopoetry

Snyder hold the view of ecocentric egalitarianism， which is realized in his ecopoetry by employing several strategies. These strategies aim at deconstructing anthropocentrism and enhancing the position of non-human high enough to enjoy deserved respect.

The first strategy is to present humans insignificance in an enormously expanded context of space and time. The best example must be “What Happened Here Before”. The poem traces the evolution of the West Coast region of the continent beginning 300million years ago with the land still under the sea 80million years ago， “sea-bed strata raised and folded”（Snyder， “Turtle Island” 78）. At 3million years ago， the land “titled and the rivers fell apart/ all running west/ to cut the gorges of the Feather，/ Bear， and Yuba” that define current watersheds of the bioregion.

The second strategy is to decenter the narrative subject in a poem. Lawrence Buell refers to this approach as one type of an aesthetics of relinquishment， which involves giving up “individual autonomy itself， to forgo the illusion of mental and even bodily apartness from ones environment”（Buell， “Environmental Imagination” 144） This is well illustrated by many of Gary Snyders poems that rely on verbs in place of first person pronouns， among which “Second Shaman Song ” is the most successful example. There is no “I” in “Second Shaman Song” until the final lines， so there is no privileged subject position set against an inferior world of objects. It “conveys as rigorous a relinquishment of homocentrism as one could expect a human lyric to achieve”（Buell， “Environmental Imagination” 167）.

3.Poetry and Poetics in Ecological Crisis

Snyder also put emphasis on ecological crisis. As he finds that “Many of the large mammals face extinction， and all manner of species are endangered. Natural habitat is fragmented and then destroyed. The worlds forests are being relentlessly logged by multinational corporations. Air， water， and soil are all in worse shape. Population continues to climb.”（Snyder， “A Place in Space” 46）

“Where shall we go，” in Snyders own words “how to be，” in ecological crisis is regarded as “the central question” in his works. Snyder thinks that the major problems endangering humans in the ecological crisis are the overgrowth of population， pollution and extravagant consumption. He also holds that we should transform our selfish human-centered cultures into the bioregional ground-based culture：”no transformation without our feet on the ground. Stewardship means， for most of us， find your place on the planet， dig in， and take responsibility from there...”（Snyder， “Turtle Island” 101）

Snyders wish to be the spokesman for nature is based on his literalization of one aspect of the convention. It is about a biological theory that the earth has some “knowledge” that could be learnt to be communicated. This “knowledge” can be communicated to competent “readers” of nonhuman nature， and the best reader are not those scientists working in the laboratory but those who live close to nature.

Conclusion

Gary Snyder has been acclaimed by deep ecological advocates as their Poet Laureate. His has done a lot on the shaping of deep ecologys sensibilities. Compared with other writers of the Beat Generation， his poems remain as the everlasting.Gary Snyder not only through his poems convince the readers the significance of building a harmonious relationship with nature， but also makes a great contribution to the establishment of ecological poetics. His ecological thoughts are put into the poetry composing， thus established his eco-poetics.

Snyder has never ceased to put his ecological thoughts into practice. He knows each kind of tree in the zone he lives in， he get into the wilderness to experience the unity of human and nature， and he joined many ecological organizations to do practices of environment protection.

Cited Works：

[1]Bill Devall& George Sessions， Deep Ecology， Salt Lake City： Gibbs M. Smith， Inc.1985.

[2]Nicholas OConnell， At the Fields End. Seattle： Madrona Publishers，1987.

[3]Gary Snyder， A place in Space： Ethics， Aesthetics， and Watersheds. New York： Counterpoint，1995.

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