Ecopoetry
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The term Ecopoetry has come into recent, popular use as a means of denoting poetry with a strong ecological emphasis or message.
Naturally, across the ages, many poets, poems and books of poems have expressed ecological concerns; but it is only relatively recently that the neologism has gained momentum and acceptability. There is now, in English-speaking poetry, a recognisable sub-genre of poetry having a distinctively Ecopoetic thrust.
Prior to the term becoming well-known or fashionable, a number of forerunning books had delivered a potent Ecological message: although these poets did not mention the word overtly, they were clearly 'Ecopoetic' in stance and exerted a priming influence on the subsequent popularity of the sub-genre. Examples include: The White Poem by Jay Ramsay & Carole Bruce (Rivelin Grapheme Press, 1988), Bosco (Hearing Eye, 1999; 2001)[1] and (more recently) Heavy Water: a poem for Chernobyl (Enitharmon Press, 2004) [2].
One of a number of seminal texts helping to introduce the term into wider, critical use was Ecopoetry: a Critical Introduction edited by J. Scott Bryson (2002). Another example of the burgeoning use of the term at the millennial turn was the journal Ecopoetics[3], which broadened the term from poetry into poiesis interpreted as making/writing more generally.
Since then, a spate of poetry anthologies and books has appeared, either employing the word explicitly or using the idea as a guiding principle. Recent instances include Alice Oswald's The Thunder Mutters (2005) and the ground-breaking Earth Shattering: Ecopoems, edited by Neil Astley at Bloodaxe Books (2007)[4].
One of the chief characteristics of Ecopoetry, as defined by James Engelhardt[5], is that it is connected to the world in a way that implies responsibility. As with other models that explore and assume engagement (Marxism, feminism, etc.), Ecopoetry is "surrounded by questions of ethics" [J Engelhardt, 2007].
The term itself is variously interpreted, and a precise definition does not exist; however, as a means of describing poetry (or poetic projects) that embrace the ecological imperative for personal sensitivity and social change, Ecopoetry has now moved squarely into current use, and is cited freely across the literature by such writers as John Burnside and Mario Petrucci.
[edit] Sources/ References
- 'Ecopoems': term used in title of Earth Shattering: Ecopoems (ed. Neil Astley; Bloodaxe 2007) ISBN 1 85224 774 6.
- Ecopoetry: a Critical Introduction (ed. J. Scott Bryson; University of Utah Press 2002) ISBN 978-0874807011.
- The White Poem by Jay Ramsay and Carole Bruce (Rivelin Grapheme Press, 1988) ISBN 978-0947612290.
- Bosco by Mario Petrucci (Hearing Eye, 1999; 2001) ISBN 1-870841-77-8.
- Heavy Water: a poem for Chernobyl (Enitharmon Press, 2004) ISBN 1-900564-34-3.
- The Thunder Mutters: 101 Poems About the Planet (ed., Alice Oswald; Faber & Faber, 2005) ISBN 9780571218578.
- The Language Habitat: an Ecopoetry Manifesto by James Engelhardt (2007).
- Manifesto Ecopoesie by M. Ivana Trevisani Bach [6]
- Literary journal: Ecopoetics
