Open AccessLIFE OF BLOSSOM
Author(s) -
David A. Chang,
Lee Beavington
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
art/research international
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2371-3771
DOI - 10.18432/ari29501
Subject(s) - anthropocene , flourishing , poetry , meaning (existential) , ecological crisis , beauty , dialogic , consciousness , environmental ethics , aesthetics , history , sociology , ecology , literature , philosophy , art , epistemology , psychology , social psychology , biology
Scientists indicate that we are living in the Anthropocene, an epoch marked by unprecedented human impact on the planet. Our ecological predicament poses a significant challenge to human consciousness as we experience a pivotal moment in planetary history. Following the work of Mary Oliver, Carl Leggo, Kathleen Dean Moore, and other poetic luminaries, we consider what it means to live poetically in the Anthropocene, to experience beauty and meaning amidst depletion and radical ecological change, to weep for the disappearance of species while working toward personal and systemic transformation. We ask: How does poetry contribute to a flourishing life in a time of ecological crisis? Why is poetry an especially potent vehicle of human expression and transformation? In a dialogic format, the authors exchange reflections on poetic inquiry, and muse on the importance of poetry as a vehicle for investigation and reformation.