Poet Laureate of Deep Ecology

My 'introduction' to Gary Snyder was as Japhy Ryder in Kerouac's Dharma Bums: mountain walking; minimalist furnishings, if any! Also referred to as 'the Thoreau of the Beat Generation'; however, he prefers to be remembered as the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, 1975, with: Turtle Island' (Native American for the North continent of America). Now, as an environmental activist, he's known as 'Poet Laureate of Deep Ecology'. I had to look that up - 'deep ecology' was a term coined by Norwegian philosopher, Arnie Dekke Eide, inspired by Rachel Carson's book: Silent Spring - just prior to the formation of Greenpeace, and a more holistic understanding of our responsibility to our planet's well-being.  

His poetry has an interesting flavour; a fusion of city & country. Born into the Great Depression, his family took on a smallholding, with cows, chickens, a small orchard; having lived so close to the land, and being so connected to Nature, remains evident throughout his life's work. 

 

When he was 7 years old, he an accident laid him up for 4 months. He read voraciously; anything and everything, never losing that appetite for reading. Later he combined passions in a double degree: Anthropology & Literature. 

           A documentary-film, 2010, of his book of the same name (1990): The Practice of the Wild [https://www.amazon.com/Practice-Wild-John-J-Healey/dp/B008525PVE] Musings on culture, ecology, the natural world, wild mind etc. [Review: https://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/films/reviews/view/20396/the-practice-of-the-wild] 

          Happy Birthday, Gary Snyder! I've enjoyed learning about your life and work; and admire your passion for learning, and how it led you to translate much-loved poetry from ancient Chinese & modern Japanese, enabling others to share in your discoveries.