Gary Snyder Criticism
Gary Snyder's body of work reflects a synthesis of Western and Eastern philosophies, interweaving myth and landscape to probe the intricate relationships between humans and their environment. Snyder's poetic landscape is one where the distance between man and nature is dissolved, as highlighted in The Ecological Vision of Gary Snyder. Critics like Herbert Leibowitz have debated the consistency of his impact, as seen in Ecologies of the Finite and the Infinite, yet his influence on American poetry is undeniable, earning him recognition as an "unofficial poet laureate of the environmentalist movement," a title explored by The Critter Poet.
Snyder's formative years on small farms and his hands-on labor experiences carve a tangible connection between humanity and the natural world into his poetry. His academic endeavors in literature and anthropology, coupled with a profound interest in Asian languages and philosophies, particularly Zen Buddhism, infuse his poetry with a unique blend of Eastern and Western elements. As Thomas Parkinson observes, his work seeks a "prehuman reality," a vision of harmonious coexistence with nature.
His senior thesis, He Who Hunted Birds in His Father's Village, alongside essays like those in Earth House Hold and The Real Work, delve into the unity of internal and external realities. According to Scott McLean, Snyder views poetry as "the seat of the soul," where these realities converge, offering a meditation on humanity's relationship with nature.
Often seen as a successor to Emerson, Snyder's work merges spiritual and natural worlds. His debut, Riprap, received mixed reviews but was praised for its clarity. Myths & Texts is regarded as more sophisticated, while Turtle Island, noted for its confidence, faced critique for its polemical tone. Snyder's legacy lies in his ability to entwine personal experience, ecological awareness, and philosophical depth, as examined in Sherman Paul's analysis of his poetic evolution.
Contents
- Principal Works
- Snyder, Gary (Vol. 5)
-
Snyder, Gary (Sherman)
-
The Work of Gary Snyder
(summary)
In the following essay, Crunk (pseudonym of James Wright) argues that Gary Snyder's poetry is distinguished by its Western imagination, divergence from "Beat" influences, and significant Oriental influences, specifically in its imaginative precision and construction, which positions Snyder as a unique and courageous voice in American poetry, bridging traditional and innovative forms.
-
Bob Steuding
(summary)
In the following essay, Bob Steuding argues that Gary Snyder's poetry, influenced by Buddhism and Imagism, creates a new kind of ecological and non-Romantic poetry that is mystical and direct, positioning Snyder as a significant voice in American literature with works that may secure his enduring reputation.
-
Gary Snyder: Essay
(summary)
In the following essay, Ekbert Faas explores Gary Snyder's poetry as a unique fusion of Eastern and Western literary traditions, highlighting Snyder's philosophical engagement with the void and creation, his employment of diverse poetic modes, and his rejection of confessional tendencies in favor of a broader, more holistic approach reflective of his Buddhist beliefs.
-
Scott McLean
(summary)
In the following essay, Scott McLean explores how Gary Snyder's dialogues and meditative poetry in "The Real Work" and earlier works embody a synthesis of Western, Eastern, and indigenous traditions to connect inner and outer realities, emphasizing poetry as a communal force and a means to navigate modern life's complexities.
-
Process As Plenitude: The Poetry of Gary Snyder and Robert Duncan
(summary)
In the following essay, Charles Altieri argues that Gary Snyder's poetry uniquely integrates Eastern meditative practices with Western cultural contexts, creating a religious vision grounded in dramatic techniques and ecological consciousness, and articulating a dialectical balance between plenitude and change as he reflects on interrelationships in nature and culture.
-
Thomas J. Lyon
(summary)
In the following essay, Thomas J. Lyon argues that Gary Snyder's senior thesis, "He Who Hunted Birds in His Father's Village," exemplifies his enduring literary approach by exploring cultural roots through a "Swan Maiden" myth, highlighting Snyder's ability to deeply understand and portray the interconnectedness of ecology, culture, and art.
-
The Talk of Nevada County, CA
(summary)
In the following essay, Kevin Oderman explores Gary Snyder's "The Real Work" as a practical guide rooted in communal poetry and regionalism, highlighting Snyder's extensive knowledge across disciplines while critiquing the logical discourse and scientific language that occasionally mar the poetic resonance.
-
The Real Work: Interviews & Talks, 1964–1979
(summary)
In the following essay, Thomas W. Pew, Jr. examines Gary Snyder's "The Real Work," highlighting the interviews as an insightful exploration of Snyder's synthesis of myth, religion, and bioregional ethics, and praising his unique blend of cultural influences and careful, humorous articulation of ideas.
-
The Real Work: Interviews & Talks, 1964–1979
(summary)
In the following essay, Bert Almon explores Gary Snyder's exploration of social, political, and poetic themes in "The Real Work: Interviews and Talks, 1964–1979," highlighting Snyder's defense of shamanism as a universal spiritual experience and his integration into a broad intellectual network.
-
On Seeing the Universe Freshly
(summary)
In the following essay, Roger Jones argues that Gary Snyder's interviews in The Real Work reflect his social and spiritual concerns beyond poetry, emphasizing ecological and political sanity, while portraying the poet as a modern shaman whose work harmonizes inner and outer realities to counteract technological abstraction.
-
Pictures from Borges
(summary)
In the following essay, Mary Kinzie examines Gary Snyder's poetic style, noting his avoidance of metaphor and preference for surface-level description, while critiquing his inability to distinguish poetic from nonpoetic language, and acknowledging his skill in creating vivid, haiku-like imagery that reflects a disciplined yet aimless attention to detail.
-
Charles Molesworth
(summary)
In the following essay, Charles Molesworth argues that Gary Snyder's poetry evolves from perceptual intensity to mythic imagination, positioning him as a moral visionary whose work celebrates ecological and cultural unity, while balancing modernist allegiances with a utopian vision of interconnectedness and community.
-
Axe Handles
(summary)
In the following essay, Robert Peters argues that Gary Snyder's "Axe Handles" showcases his matured poetic style with a focus on immediate experience, blending Zen Buddhism and American pragmatism, while celebrating human effort and synaesthetic effects, ultimately offering an inviting vision of nature and spirituality without overt didacticism.
-
The Poetry of Gary Snyder
(summary)
In the following essay, Thomas Parkinson examines Gary Snyder's poetry, emphasizing its integration of tradition, nature, and metaphysics, while acknowledging criticisms regarding its monotony and perceived lack of engagement with modern life, ultimately arguing that Snyder's work offers profound cultural possibilities through its expansive moral and ecological perspective.
-
Paul Berman
(summary)
In the following essay, Paul Berman critiques Gary Snyder's Axe Handles for its overt ecological themes and sometimes mundane Zen-like diaries, while also acknowledging Snyder's unique musicality and his deep connection to nature.
-
Axe Handles
(summary)
In the following essay, Bruce Bawer argues that "Axe Handles" represents Gary Snyder's finest work, highlighting his shift from the political abstractions of earlier works to a more tranquil and poignant meditation on tradition, family, and the enduring transmission of cultural knowledge.
-
The Work of Gary Snyder
(summary)
- Snyder, Gary (Vol. 1)
- Snyder, Gary (Vol. 2)
-
Snyder, Gary (Vol. 120)
-
The Ecological Vision of Gary Snyder
(summary)
In the following essay, Lyon places Snyder's work at the forefront of the new naturalist movement.
-
Ecologies of the Finite and the Infinite
(summary)
In the following review of Turtle Island, Leibowitz argues that Snyder has failed to adequately transform stray thoughts into powerful poetry.
-
Gary Snyder's Han-Shan
(summary)
In the following essay, Bartlett discusses Snyder's translations of the works of seventh-century Buddhist poet Hanshan.
-
A Note on Japanese Allusions in Gary Snyder's Poetry
(summary)
In the essay below, Yamazato traces Snyder's use of Japanese folktales and culture in his poetry. Recent criticism of the poetry of Gary Snyder has focused on the poet's use of allusions. While Buddhist and Chinese allusions have gradually been identified and explicated, the equally important Japanese allusions in Snyder's poetry have attracted little attention. Reflecting the poet's Japanese years (1956–1968), these allusions range widely over such subjects as classical Japanese literature, folklore, religion, and the Japanese way of life in general. The allusions to the Japanese subjects indeed are so varied that a coherent discussion of them would require a much longer study than the present one. Instead of attempting an exhaustive discussion of Snyder's Japanese allusions, then, I would like to narrow my focus and discuss a few representative examples.
-
Mythic and Fantastic: Gary Snyder's 'Mountains and Rivers without End'
(summary)
In the following essay, Murphy analyzes Snyder's poem 'Mountains and Rivers without End' in terms of Tzetvan Todorov's theories on the fantastic.
-
The Shaman Songs of Gary Snyder
(summary)
In the essay below, Rehanek focuses on Axe Handles and considers Snyder's philosophy of the interconnections between man and nature.
-
Pattern of Flux: The 'Torsion Form' in Gary Snyder's Poetry
(summary)
In the essay below, Lavazzi documents the connection between Snyder's cosmology and his poetic structure.
-
Echoes of Eliot in Snyder's 'A Stone Garden'
(summary)
In the following essay, Schork speculates on the influence of T. S. Eliot's poem 'Preludes' on Snyder's 'A Stone Garden.'
-
The Mountain Hedonist
(summary)
In the following review of The Practice of the Wild, McKibben argues that Snyder believes as environmentalists we must bridge our estrangement from nature.
-
Speaking for the Green of the Leaf: Gary Snyder Writes Nature's Literature
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Martin explores Snyder's environmental writings and the ways in which Snyder challenges the dominant Western discourse.
-
How to Be in This Crisis: Gary Snyder's Cross-Cultural Vision in Turtle Island
(summary)
In the following essay, Yamazato discusses the way in which Snyder's unique interpretation of Buddhism shapes his poetry.
-
The Practice of the Wild
(summary)
In the following review, Strickland praises Snyder's wisdom and attention to craftsmanship in the essays from The Practice of the Wild. Reading the essays in The Practice of the Wild one can almost see Gary Snyder, the new-age hunter-gatherer so enamored of 'good tools' and 'high quality information,' pecking away at his Macintosh computer—the consummate Zen craftsman of words. None of the 1960's rhetoric sometimes found in his earlier essays is here, only eloquence and an 'ecology of language.' Whether the subject is the history of communal lands and the development of wilderness areas, or the implications of an imposed Western-culture curriculum for the education of twenty-first-century Alaskan Inupiaq children, Snyder's tone is always careful and driven by a pinpoint focus of thought.
-
Chants and Chainsaws
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Tillinghast praises No Nature for uniting a lifetime of Snyder's work.
-
Review of No Nature
(summary)
In the following review of No Nature, Barber argues that Snyder's work has lost an element of vitality and urgency.
-
The Critter Poet
(summary)
In the following review, Benfey reconsiders Snyder's career from the 1950s to the present.
-
The Ecological Vision of Gary Snyder
(summary)
- Snyder, Gary (Vol. 9)
-
Snyder, Gary
-
The Ecological Vision of Gary Snyder
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Lyon considers Snyder's poetry strongly rooted in the ecology of the American West.
-
From Lookout to Ashram: The Way of Gary Snyder
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Paul reveals correlations between personal events in Snyder's life and his development as both a poet and an environmentalist.
-
Buddhism and Energy in the Recent Poetry of Gary Snyder
(summary)
In the following essay, Almon explores the influence of Buddhist metaphysics on Snyder's work.
-
The Political and Poetic Vision of Turtle Island
(summary)
In the following essay, Molesworth discusses the political and poetic viewpoints of Snyder's Pulitzer-prize-winning work, Turtle Island.
-
Gary Synder and The Curve of Return
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Schultz and Wyatt summarize Snyder's early work and provide in-depth coverage of Axe Handles.
-
The Importance of Nothing: Absence and its Origins in the Poetry of Gary Synder
(summary)
In the excerpt below, Norton discusses Snyder's use of imagery. In his early wilderness poetry, Gary Snyder builds absences into the structure, imagery, and syntax of his texts in order to inscribe the essential Zen Buddhist perception of the identity of sunyata (Emptiness) and tathata (suchness, objective reality) in the form itself of each poem.
-
The Pattern Which Connects: Metaphor in Gary Snyder's Later Poetry
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Martin uses feminist theory to analyze Snyder's complex metaphors.
-
Coyote-Mind: An Interview with Gary Snyder
(summary)
In the following interview, Julie Martin explores Gary Snyder's reflections on the impact of his political upbringing, his sustainable lifestyle, and his engagement with Buddhist and mythological themes, illustrating how these elements have shaped his literary work and philosophical outlook.
-
Of Wildness and Wilderness in Plain Language: The Practice of the Wild
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Murphy discusses the ecological impact of Snyder's writing.
-
American Zen: Gary Snyder's No Nature
(summary)
In the following excerpt, Vendler discusses the concept of self in Snyder's poetry.
-
The Ecological Vision of Gary Snyder
(summary)
- Further Reading