Theodore Roethke, William Stafford, and Gary Snyder: The Ecological Metaphor As Transformed Regionalism (Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis)

This study examines the new ecological dimensions of the regional impulse in the poetry of three major, contemporary poets of the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The study opens with a survey and analysis of the discussion of a general regional aesthetic in poetry in the Northwest during the 20th century and argues that the important development visible in the regional impluse since World War II in these poets has less to do with an earlier regional aesthetic than with the elements of an ecological metaphor. strategies of expressing the metaphor within the context of their common region is explored. It is argued that in the poetry the ecological metaphor conveys a new view of the relationship between man and non-human nature, between man and place, in which man is seen as an integrated and inseparable part of the natural systems of a region. This poetic metaphor is ethical in that it voices a concern about the destruction of the natural environment, suggests a model of ecologically correct behaviour, and envisages a harmonious balance where the human and non-human meet as equals. integrity of the non-human world, the poetry tends to reject images and emblems of our contemporary industrial-technological society, and to harken back not only to earlier Romantic and Transcendental currents in poetry, but more significantly, to the vision of man's place in nature as traditionally perceived by native Americans. Finally, the study concludes with a brief survey of other Northwest poets who emphasize regional and/or ecological themes - including a glance at three prominent Northwest Native American poets - and a brief discussion of the political dimensions of this metaphor.