Gary Snyder is a distinguished American poet, essayist, and environmental activist who has made significant contributions to the literary world and environmental movements. Born on May 8, 1930, in San Francisco, California, he grew up in the Pacific Northwest and was deeply influenced by the region’s natural beauty and cultural heritage. Snyder’s work often reflects his concerns for nature, ecology, and spiritual matters, making him a prominent figure in both the Beat Generation and the San Francisco Renaissance.
As a poet, Gary Snyder’s work is characterized by its vivid imagery, attention to detail, and powerful evocations of the natural world. Inspired by his studies in anthropology and East Asian languages at Reed College and the University of California, Berkeley, Snyder incorporated elements from various cultural traditions and spiritual teachings to create a unique poetic voice that resonates with readers across cultures. With more than 20 published collections of poetry, including Riprap (1959), Myths & Texts (1960), Turtle Island (1974), which won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, and Mountains and Rivers Without End (1996), Snyder has established himself as one of the most influential poets in American literature.
In addition to his poetry, Gary Snyder has also made significant contributions as an essayist. His essays on topics such as ecology, spirituality, and cultural criticism have been published in numerous journals and anthologies. His essay collections include Earth House Hold (1969), The Practice of the Wild (1990), and A Place in Space (1995). Through these works, Snyder has shaped contemporary discourse on environmental ethics, deep ecology, and bioregionalism while advocating for a more sustainable and harmonious relationship between humans and the natural world.
Beyond his literary accomplishments, Gary Snyder is also an ardent environmental activist who has tirelessly campaigned for conservation efforts and sustainable living practices. He has been actively involved in the environmental movement since the 1960s, participating in various protests, conferences, and educational initiatives. Snyder’s activism has been informed by his deep understanding of ecology, his studies of indigenous cultures, and his practice of Zen Buddhism. His continued efforts in raising awareness about the importance of preserving our planet’s ecosystems have earned him several accolades, including the John Hay Award for Nature Writing in 1984 and the American Academy of Arts and Letters’ Harold D. Vursell Memorial Award in 1997.
Gary Snyder is a multifaceted figure who has made lasting contributions to American literature and environmental activism. As a poet, essayist, and environmental activist, he has consistently demonstrated a deep commitment to the natural world and the preservation of its diverse ecosystems. Through his influential writings and tireless advocacy, Gary Snyder has inspired generations of readers and activists to cultivate a more sustainable and compassionate relationship with our planet.
Mother Earth: Her Whales
An owl winks in the shadows
A lizard lifts on tiptoe, breathing hard
Young male sparrow stretches up his neck,
big head, watching—
The grasses are working in the sun. Turn it green.
Turn it sweet. That we may eat.
Grow our meat.
Brazil says “sovereign use of Natural Resources”
Thirty thousand kinds of unknown plants.
The living actual people of the jungle
sold and tortured—
And a robot in a suit who peddles a delusion called “Brazil”
can speak for them?
The whales turn and glisten, plunge
and sound and rise again,
Hanging over subtly darkening deeps
Flowing like breathing planets
in the sparkling whorls of
living light—
And Japan quibbles for words on
what kinds of whales they can kill?
A once-great Buddhist nation
dribbles methyl mercury
like gonorrhea
in the sea.
Pere David’s Deer, the Elaphure,
Lived in the tule marshes of the Yellow River
Two thousand years ago—and lost its home to rice—
The forests of Lo-yang were logged and all the silt &
Sand flowed down, and gone, by 1200 AD—
Wild Geese hatched out in Siberia
head south over basins of the Yang, the Huang,
what we call “China”
On flyways they have used a million years.
Ah China, where are the tigers, the wild boars,
the monkeys,
like the snows of yesteryear
Gone in a mist, a flash, and the dry hard ground
Is parking space for fifty thousand trucks.
IS man most precious of all things?
—then let us love him, and his brothers, all those
Fading living beings—
North America, Turtle Island, taken by invaders
who wage war around the world.
May ants, may abalone, otters, wolves and elk
Rise! and pull away their giving
from the robot nations.
Solidarity. The People.
Standing Tree People!
Flying Bird People!
Swimming Sea People!
Four-legged, two-legged people!
How can the head-heavy power-hungry politic scientist
Government two-world Capitalist-Imperialist
Third-world Communist paper-shuffling male
non-farmer jet-set bureaucrats
Speak for the green of the leaf? Speak for the soil?
(Ah Margaret Mead . . . do you sometimes dream of Samoa?)
The robots argue how to parcel out our Mother Earth
To last a little longer
like vultures flapping
Belching, gurgling,
near a dying doe.
“In yonder field a slain knight lies—
We’ll fly to him and eat his eyes
with a down
derry derry derry down down.”
An Owl winks in the shadow
A lizard lifts on tiptoe
breathing hard
The whales turn and glisten
plunge and
Sound, and rise again
Flowing like breathing planets
In the sparkling whorls
Of living light.
-Gary Snyder
Curated by Jennifer
