Embracing Existential Risk with Gary Snyder
Through colorful imagery and figurative language, Gary Snyder tackles the concept of existential risk-taking in revealing the enduring strength found within the elemental forces of the earth.
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Snyder’s poetry explores the ability of natural components to alter, as the lines,
“The vein and cleavage
In the very guts of rock, can
Blast granite, build
Switchbacks that last for years”
Gary Snyder on page 289, explored the complex geological processes that shape and define the environment. Snyder gives readers a deeper understanding of the natural world’s lasting resilience. Snyder Highlights how the earth’s geological processes are dynamic and transformational through his reflection on geological phenomena like the “vein and cleavage” within rocks (Snyder). These operations, which involve building switchbacks and blasting granite, represent nature’s unwavering capacity to change, adapt, and endure the passage of time.
“Yaquina fishdocks
candlefish & perch
slant-faced woman fishing
tuna stacked like cordwood
the once-glimpsed-into door
company freezer shed
a sick old seagull settles
down to die”
The phrase “Yaquina fishdocks” immediately situates the reader within a bustling maritime environment, where the hustle and bustle of fishing activities echo against the backdrop of the ocean. Snyder creates a moving portait of the Yaquina fishdocks, a scene brimming with activity and packed with layers of significance, using vivid images and reflective words. The mention of the “once-glimpsed-into door/company freezer shed,” (Snyder 300) further underscores the theme of human encroachment upon the natural world. Here, Snyder invites readers to contemplate the consequences of industrialization and commodification, as the once-vibrant ecosystem gives way to the encroaching structures of human civilization.
Sources
Charters, Ann, editor. The Portable Beat Reader. Penguin Publishing Group, 1992. (Pages 289–300)
