Alessandro Mingione's Reviews > Turtle Island

A Beat poet, a Buddhist, and an environmental activist walk into a bar. Except they are all One.

Jokes aside, this has been some of my favorite poetry ever. Some of the poems deal with injustice towards the environment or the First People. I've found those to be tragic and touching and, while unequivocal in intent, they also manage to stand on their own. Others speak of "fundamental" parts of us we often neglect, either because we are not capable of connecting with them anymore or because we'd rather look the other way. Recognizing that we are just overly complex animals is uncomfortable, but Snyder takes you to that uncomfortable, visceral place when he remembers bathing with his wife and son, and describes how their bodies react to each other's. Other times he does it more gently by reminding us of how, like all other animals, we are not separate from each other and from this planet we inhabit and abuse.