Gary Snyder

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Written by Leonardo Urena

Synopsis

Gary Snyder was born on May 8^th, 1930 in San Francisco, California. His early years were spent on small farms in Washington and Oregon, with his parents, Harold and Lois Snyder. At the age of 10, Snyder experienced a burn injury of his legs, which left him immobile for four months—the time he spent recovering he developed a serious interest in literature (Steuding, 17).

In 1951, he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in English and anthropology from Reed College, located in Portland, Oregon. Snyder later studied Asian languages at the Berkeley from 1953 to 1956, which initiated his interest in Buddhism and East Asian cultures. More or less, throughout the years that he attended college and after college, Snyder worked as a logger, carpenter, seaman, forester, and fire lookout. His experiences with these jobs helped become the inspiration for many of his later works in poetry and nature writing (Steuding, 17).

Snyder acquainted himself with other American writers such as Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac. At the Six Gallery in 1955, Snyder, Ginsberg, and Kerouac perform in a notable poetry reading that ignites the San Francisco Renaissance. The relationship to Ginsberg and Kerouac also became Snyder’s link to other writers, particularly those belonging to the Beat Generation, hence, Snyder’s association with both movements (Steuding 18).

In May, 1957, Snyder leaves for Japan to study Zen and Japanese. He leaves Japan by means of working on a ship named “Sappa Creek” as a wiper. In the span of 1959 through 1964, his books of poetry and essays entitled Riprap and Myths & Texts are published, he also makes a return to Japan where he marries Joanne Kyger. Soon after in 1964, Snyder separates from Kyger and returns to the University of California, Berkely where he taught English. For a third time, Snyder makes a return to Japan to study Buddhism. In 1966, performing readings on college campuses in the United States, Snyder receives the American Council of Arts and Science Prize, and his book a Range of Poems is published. From 1959-1968, what Bob Steuding considers to be Snyder’s most “productive and rewarding years,” because “Synder published five books of poetry and obtained numerous grants and awards” (Steuding 18-19).

After 1971, Snyder becomes increasingly more involved in speaking out on environmental issues. Delivering lectures on college campuses and publishing articles in famous literary magazines and newspapers about the environment. Most noteworthy, is his work entitled Turtle Island, in which he won the Pulitzer Prize, and which he pleas for mindfulness when dealing with our continent (Steuding 20- 21).

Snyder's dedication to environmental concerns has been growing throughout the years, and he seems to move away from poetry for much of the 1980s and early 1990s. Yet, in 1996 he published the complete Mountains and Rivers Without End. This work was written over a 40-year period, as Snyder worked on it throughout most of his life. It has been translated into Japanese and French and it is one of the longest works he has put together. In 2004 Snyder published Danger on Peaks, his first collection of new poems in twenty years (Snyder, Back on the fire: essays).

Formative Years

Gary Snyder’s parents were very poor as a result of the great depression. In order to make a living Snyder’s father moved the family back to his hometown of Seattle where at first they owned a shack made out of tarpaper on an acre, of what Snyder describes as “stumpland” north of the nearest town. In an interview written by Alfred Aronowiz, Snyder illustrates his parents and their influence, by first explaining how his father supported the family. Snyder states, “Over the years, my father built the place up, fenced it, got another acre, fixed the house, built a barn and got cows and chickens. I was brought up a farmboy with chickens to feed and a milk route to our neighbors” (SECTION FOUR). He continues, recounting his mother’s personality and influence, “My mother was, and is, a very high-strung, neurotic person with literary ambitions, and farm life and poverty wore her down. She was, and is, impossible, but she got me onto books and poetry at the age of five” (SECTION FOUR). Snyder relives an accident he experienced as a child and the positive turn came out of that misfortune. Snyder recounts, “When I was seven, I burned my feet badly while burning brush, and for four months couldn't walk. So my folks brought me piles of books from the Seattle public library and it was then I really learned to read and from that time on was voracious—I figure that accident changed my life” (SECTION FOUR). Snyder said that he had read more than most people do before of the age of 18 in those four months, and his obsession continued, “I was hung up on American Indians and nature all through childhood and hated civilization for having, fucked up the Indians, as described in Ernest Thompson Seton's Book of the Woodcraft Indians, my bible still, and for ruining the woods and soil—which I could see going on all about me” (SECTION FOUR). His teenage years were spent working at a local radio station alongside his mother. Later on, a professor at Reed College read some of his poetry, which lead to a scholarship, in order for him to attend a College that his parent could afford.

Career

Gary Snyder’s career has been an arrangement of the academic and the meditative, spiritual lessons and physical benefit. During and after college he worked odd-jobs, yet still related to his passion, nature. Some of these jobs were working as a “logger, a trail-crew member, and a seaman on a Pacific tanker.” While trying to discover what path he wanted to head toward he studied Oriental languages at Berkeley (1953-6). Snyder was associated with Beat writers such as Ginsberg and Kerouac, which he met while attending Berkeley. He later moved to Japan (1956-64), where he had received a grant to study Buddhism. During that time Riprap and Myths & Texts were published, which he won several literary prizes, “including a Guggenheim fellowship (1968) and the Pulitzer Prize (1975).” Snyder joined the University of California at Davis faculty in 1986, he now teaches literature and 'wilderness thought, and was recently awarded the California State Library Gold Medal for Excellence in the Humanities and Science on June 17, 2001. '(Maxwell, M.A.P.).

Works

Gary Snyder's skill was first displayed when his first book, Riprap (Kyoto, 1959) was published. In this work he expressed a desire to resolve the problems with nature and society during that era, his remarkable knack to put into words the idea of physical nature is surely undeniable: 'I cannot remember things I once read / A few friends, but they are in cities. / Drinking cold snow-water from a tin cup / Looking down for miles / Through high still air' ('Mid-August at Sourdough Mountain Lookout'). Glyn Maxwell describes his work by stating that, “Simplicity, distance, accuracy of atmosphere: these are hallmarks of the work throughout. The laid-back, jotted-down tone masks an acute sensitivity to rhythm and, in particular, assonance” (Maxwell, M.A.P.). 'I feel ancient, as though I had / Lived many lives', 'An Autumn Morning in Shokoku-ji') Snyder's poetry brings together America's past with nature, and his long connection to Zen Buddhism. Since then Snyder has published more than 20 works in poetry alone. He continues to write and when asked about his accomplishments he is quoted as saying, “I never look back. (Steuding 20- 21).

Spirituality

Snyder considers himself a Buddhist, yet, he never claims to misrepresent Zen nor to represent it. In many ways he tries to draw comparisons with other religions especially those popular in western society, perhaps in hopes of opening a few new eyes to the realization of caring about the environment. "You Westerners!" he said in an interview for Sun Magazine which the reporter described as “a voice full of patent condescension, placing himself emphatically on the side of the Pacific where he happened to be.” Or else, with some derision: The Western mind!" Or else, in equally disparaging tones: "It's all these Westerners that think you can understand your world by reducing it to a manipulated simplicity!"

In this quote Snyder explains how some of Buddhist followers you themselves and how in turn that develops a respect for nature:

"The concept of reincarnation in India can literally shape the way one lives in the world," Snyder notes, "and many Tibetans also believe in reincarnation quite literally. So in that frame of mind, the world becomes completely familiar. You sit down and realize that 'I've been men, women, animals; there are no forms that are alien to me.'

In an interview called The Wild Mind of Gary Snyder, by Trevor Carolan, Gary explains his observations about Buddhism in India, he said, "That's why everyone in India looks like they're living in eternity. They walk along so relaxed, so confident, so unconcerned about their poverty or their illness, or whatever it is, even if they're beggars. It goes beyond just giving you a sense of concern for the planet; it goes so far as to say, 'Planets come and go' It's pretty powerful stuff. It's also there in classical Buddhism where people say, 'I've had enough of experience.' That's where a lot of Buddhism in India starts-'I want out of the meat wheel of existence,' as Jack Kerouac says" (Sun Magazine). Snyder while opinionated is more of a look for yourself kind of guy, he’ll explain his outlook on things but allows you to make your own convictions.

Politics: concerning nature

In an interview called The Wild Mind of Gary Snyder, by Trevor Carolan, Snyder talks about the contradiction of the political name of Conservative in politics he states, "Conservatism has some very valid meanings," he says. "Of course, most of the people who call themselves conservative aren't that, because they're out to extract and use, to turn a profit. Curiously, eco and artist people and those who work with dharma practice are conservatives in the best sense of the word-we're trying to save a few things!

"We are all indigenous," he reminds us. So it is appropriate that in relearning the lessons of fox and bluejay, or city crows and squirrels-"all members present at the assembly"-that we are promised neither too little, nor too much for our perseverance. This poet, who for so many now reads like an old friend, invites us to make only sense. After all, in recommitting to this continent place by place, he reckons, "We may not transform reality, but we may transform ourselves. And if we transform ourselves, we might just change the world a bit." (Carolan).

"We were very aware of heroin addiction at that time," Snyder explains. "Kerouac, Ginsberg, Burroughs, Holmes and their circle in New York became fascinated with the metaphor of addiction in the light of heroin, smack. Marijuana was not an issue, but the intense addictive quality of heroin, and the good people who were getting drawn into it, and the romance some people had for it, was a useful framework for thinking about the nature of capitalist society and the addiction to fossil fuels in the industrial sector. It was obvious" (Carolan).

When many have considered Snyder an anarchist he has never truly declared himself one. He has been known to so that he “has no use” for the way society works currently but has of yet declared that he believes that government should be fully eradicated. In all Gary Snyder’s main political objective is to have society take nature more seriously, and hopes that a respect would form in light of this newfound respect.

Honors

· Yale University's Bollingen Prize in Poetry.

· The Buddhism Transmission Award given by Japan's Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai Foundation

· The Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Fund writer's award

· Pulitzer Prize in 1975 for his work, Turtle Island

· Member of both the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

· Guggenheim fellowship.

· California State Library Gold Medal for Excellence in the Humanities and Science.

Works Published

POETRY

· Riprap (also see below), Origin Press (San Francisco, CA), 1959.

· Myths & Texts, Totem Press (New York, NY), 1960, reprinted, New Directions (New York, NY), 1978.

· Riprap & Cold Mountain Poems (the Cold Mountain poems are Snyder's translations of poems by Han-Shan), Four Seasons Foundation (San Francisco, CA), 1965, reprinted, Shoemaker & Hoard (Washington, DC), 2004.

· Six Sections from Mountains and Rivers without End, Four Seasons Foundation (San Francisco, CA), 1965, revised edition published as Six Sections from Mountains and Rivers without End, Plus One, 1970.

· A Range of Poems (includes translations of the modern Japanese poet Miyazawa Kenji), Fulcrum (London, England), 1966.

· Three Worlds, Three Realms, Six Roads, Griffin Press (Marlboro, VT), 1966.

· The Back Country, Fulcrum (London, England), 1967, New Directions (New York, NY), 1968.

· The Blue Sky, Phoenix Book Shop (New York, NY), 1969.

· Regarding Wave, New Directions (New York, NY), 1970.

· Manzanita, Kent State University Libraries (Kent, OH), 1971.

· Piute Creek, State University College at Brockport (Brockport, NY), 1972.

· The Fudo Trilogy: Spell against Demons, Smokey the Bear Sutra, The California Water Plan (also see below), illustrated by Michael Corr, Shaman Drum (Berkeley, CA), 1973.

· Turtle Island, New Directions (New York, NY), 1974.

· All in the Family, University of California Library, c. 1975.

· Smokey the Bear Sutra (chapbook), 1976.

· Songs for Gaia, illustrated by Corr, Copper Canyon (Port Townsend, WA), 1979.

· Axe Handles, North Point Press (San Francisco, CA), 1983.

· Good Wild Scared, Five Seasons Press (Madley, Hereford, England), 1984.

· Left Out in the Rain: New Poems 1947-1986, North Point Press (San Francisco, CA), 1986, reprinted, Shoemaker & Hoard (Washington, DC), 2005.

· The Fates of Rocks & Trees, James Linden (San Francisco, CA), 1986.

· No Nature: New and Selected Poems, Pantheon (New York, NY), 1992.

· North Pacific Lands & Waters, Brooding Heron Press (Waldron Island, WA), 1993.

· Mountains and Rivers without End, Counterpoint (Washington, DC), 1996.

· Danger on Peaks: Poems, Shoemaker & Hoard (Washington, DC), 2004.

PROSE

· Earth House Hold: Technical Notes and Queries to Fellow Dharma Revolutionaries (essays), New Directions (New York, NY), 1969.

· (Contributor) Ecology: Me, Moving On, 1970.

· The Old Ways: Six Essays, City Lights (San Francisco, CA), 1977.

· On Bread & Poetry: A Panel Discussion between Gary Snyder, Lew Welch and Philip Whalen, edited by Donald M. Allen, Grey Fox (Bolinas, CA), 1977.

· He Who Hunted Birds in His Father's Village (undergraduate thesis), preface by Nathaniel Tarn, Grey Fox (Bolinas, CA), 1979.

· The Real Work: Interviews & Talks, 1964-1979, edited with introduction by Scott McLean, New Directions (New York, NY), 1980.

· Passage through India (autobiography), Grey Fox (San Francisco, CA), 1983.

· The Practice of the Wild, Farrar, Straus (New York, NY), 1990, reprinted, Shoemaker & Hoard (Washington, DC), 2004.

· A Place in Space: Ethics, Aesthetics, and Watersheds (new and selected prose), Counterpoint (Washington, DC), 1995.

· The Gary Snyder Reader: Prose, Poetry, and Translations, 1952-1998, Counterpoint (Washington, DC), 1999.

· Look Out: A Selection of Writings, New Directions (New York, NY), 2002.

OTHER

· The New Religion (sound recording), Big Sur Recordings, 1967.

· Gary Snyder Reading His Poems in the Montpelier Room, Oct. 24, 1996, (sound recording) 1996.

· A Place for Wayfaring: The Poetry and Prose of Gary Snyder / Patrick D. Murphy Oregon State University Press (Corvallis, OR), 2000.

· (With Tom Killion and John Muir) The High Sierra of California, Heyday Books, 2002.

· The practice of the wild : essays Washington, DC : Shoemaker & Hoard, 2003.

· Back on the fire : essays Emeryville, CA : Shoemaker (Berkeley, Calif.) : Distributed by Publishers Group West, 2007.

Works Cited

Aronowitz, Al. "SECTION FOUR." The Blacklisted Journalist. 10 May 2009 <http://www.blacklistedjournalist.com/column35b.html>.

Gary, Snyder,. Back on the Fire Essays. Washington, D.C.: Shoemaker & Hoard, 2007.

Gary, Snyder,. Practice of the wild essays. San Francisco: North Point P, 1990.

Gary, Snyder,. Turtle Island. [New York: New Directions, 1974.

"Gary Snyder." Welcome to English � Department of English, College of LAS, University of Illinois. 10 May 2009 <http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/s_z/snyder/snyder.htm>.

Scigaj, Leonard M. Sustainable poetry four American ecopoets. Lexington: University P of Kentucky, 1999.

Snyder, Gary. The Old Ways. San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1977.

Steuding, Bob. Gary Snyder. Boston: Twayne, 1976.

Links

http://www.blacklistedjournalist.com/column35b.html

http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/s_z/snyder/life.htm

http://www.everyday-beat.org/everyday/essay/snyder/

http://www.kerouacalley.com/snyder.html

http://www.shambhalasun.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2071&Itemid=244