Gary Snyder

Gary Snyder (born May 8, 1930) is an American poet (often associated with the Beat Generation); and an essayist, lecturer, and environmental activist who is frequently described as the 'laureate of Deep Ecology — roles reflecting his studies of both Buddhist spirituality and nature. As a social critic, Snyder's views share something in common with Lewis Mumford, Aldous Huxley, Karl Hess, Aldo Leopold, and Karl Polanyi.

Is Gary Snyder ?a Romantic??

Many people would say that poetry, inherently, is ?romantic.? Certainly there are many aspects of Gary Snyder?s work that might smack of romanticism, besides just that he writes poetry: his love of the untamed wilds of the Earth and the play of natural forces; his interest in, and often enthusiasm for, foreign cultures and his devotion to ancient things; his belief in the importance of intuition in his life path; his openness to the validity of magic and ?the unexplained.? Deeply interested in primitive or tribal peoples, Snyder seemed so sympathetic to them in his writings of the 1970s that he seemed scarcely able to imagine bullies, selfish individuals, or spiteful miscreants as ever having lived among them.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

However, in Snyder?s work all this is balanced by an evident devotion to facts, appreciation of human practicality and capability, expressions of joy found in physical work, interest in science, and continual rumination on responsibility.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~