LIT 2030 Spring 2025 - Hall

Wendell Berry, nature poet par excellence, defines nature writing as any work that “considers nature as subject matter and inspiration.” By that definition, nature writing has existed for eons, at least as far back as the Epic of Aqhat, a fourteenth century BCE Canaanite myth-poem that takes as its orientational schema the changing of the seasons. With this rich and storied history in mind, this course will introduce students to some of the major canonical figures and movements in rural poetry. Procedurally, students will be exposed to an eclectic cast of poets from both the Eastern and Western traditions, spanning antiquity to the present. Beginning with the tranquil idylls of Theocritus and ending with the tortured anti-pastorals of Tommy Pico—supplemented along the way by critical and craft readings from relevant scholars in the field—we will investigate the extent to which poetic depictions of rural life and nature have changed over time, paying particular attention to the outside forces (whether material, political, or cultural) that have necessitated said changes. In doing so, students will hopefully become conversant in the major thematic tendencies and tensions of nature poetry, while also making a baseline acquaintance with the vital concepts, techniques, and lexicon of poetry writing more generally.