Poetry's Nature: Four Lectures
Poetry's Nature: Four Lectures
Avalon Foundation University Professor in the Humanities, and Professor of English, Emerita
Cite
Abstract
Though it is common to speak of “nature poetry,” Poetry’s Nature contends that the essential nature of poetry is bound up with the natural world: by looking to nature, we can better understand poetry, and—perhaps—vice versa. The study draws on contemporary physics and philosophy to argue that all beings, and all matter, are enmeshed in relations to one another, and that such processual relations can help us to think about poetry as an ever-arriving, ever-unfinished art. The poem may then be a microcosm of the world: parts are grounded by their relation to one another, always in the process of creating a whole. Poetry’s Nature’s four chapters explore four paradigms that illuminate poetry’s relation to other natural phenomena: the ways poems draw on birdsong to veer between language and sound, and hence between semantic density and meaninglessness; the experience of seasonality as a paradigm for the lyric’s recursive use of time; the flows and forms of water as an inspiration for the enactment and depiction of motion and rest in poems; and, finally, the vast domain of the imperceptible as a resource for the imagination. Poems are events that are felt in time rather than being merely cognized; rewarding of our attention, like the natural world; experienced, like the weather, in our bodies. By reframing poetry in its relation to nature, Poetry’s Nature hopes to reframe our relation to the world in which we live, a task that is of ever-greater urgency.
Sign in
Personal account
- Sign in with email/username & password
- Get email alerts
- Save searches
- Purchase content
- Activate your purchase/trial code
- Add your ORCID iD
Purchase
Our books are available by subscription or purchase to libraries and institutions.
Purchasing informationMonth: | Total Views: |
---|---|
February 2025 | 4 |
February 2025 | 7 |
February 2025 | 3 |
February 2025 | 5 |
February 2025 | 4 |
February 2025 | 5 |
February 2025 | 4 |
February 2025 | 4 |
February 2025 | 3 |
February 2025 | 4 |
February 2025 | 7 |
March 2025 | 7 |
March 2025 | 3 |
March 2025 | 7 |
March 2025 | 1 |
March 2025 | 1 |
March 2025 | 2 |
March 2025 | 2 |
March 2025 | 1 |
March 2025 | 1 |
March 2025 | 1 |
April 2025 | 2 |
April 2025 | 1 |
April 2025 | 2 |
April 2025 | 2 |
April 2025 | 2 |
April 2025 | 4 |
April 2025 | 2 |
April 2025 | 2 |
April 2025 | 1 |
April 2025 | 4 |
April 2025 | 2 |
May 2025 | 1 |
May 2025 | 3 |
May 2025 | 3 |
Get help with access
Institutional access
Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. If you are a member of an institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways:
IP based access
Typically, access is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically, and it is not possible to sign out of an IP authenticated account.
Sign in through your institution
Choose this option to get remote access when outside your institution. Shibboleth/Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institution’s website and Oxford Academic.
If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institution’s website, please contact your librarian or administrator.
Sign in with a library card
Enter your library card number to sign in. If you cannot sign in, please contact your librarian.
Society Members
Society member access to a journal is achieved in one of the following ways:
Sign in through society site
Many societies offer single sign-on between the society website and Oxford Academic. If you see ‘Sign in through society site’ in the sign in pane within a journal:
If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society.
Sign in using a personal account
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members. See below.
Personal account
A personal account can be used to get email alerts, save searches, purchase content, and activate subscriptions.
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members.
Viewing your signed in accounts
Click the account icon in the top right to:
Signed in but can't access content
Oxford Academic is home to a wide variety of products. The institutional subscription may not cover the content that you are trying to access. If you believe you should have access to that content, please contact your librarian.
Institutional account management
For librarians and administrators, your personal account also provides access to institutional account management. Here you will find options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access usage statistics, and more.