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GARY SNYDER AND THE MYTHOLOGICAL PRESENT
Abstract
Although Western Poets have traditionally found Greek and Judeo-Christian myths rich sources of inspiration, such is simply not the case with Gary Snyder. His criticism of Judeo-Christian religion and traditional Western culture is expressed in his poems and essays which touch on this subject and implicit in his own turning away from this heritage to seek a fresh understanding of life, personal renewal and growth, and new metaphors and patterns for poetry in Native American myth and culture, Buddhism, and paleolithic shamanism. Snyder attributes to Judeo-Christian religion destructive attitudes which discount the spiritual value of the natural world. This position permits Western society to ravage and exploit the natural world. Turning to American Indian culture in his youth and early maturity, Snyder developed an understanding of the significance of the natural world and his personal relationship to it. He also found myths and stories set in the American Wilderness, as well as such universal characters as the Trickster. These provided fresh ideas about living in a close relation with nature and a sense of the sacrality of the land and all life. Disappointed in the exclusive, ethnic nature of Indian religion the poet turned to Buddhism, another nature-related culture with the same kinds of insights as "the Old Ways" of the Amerindians, and open and accessible to anyone. Buddhism profoundly influenced his poetry in both content and form. Immersed in Buddhism (pre-Buddhist vedic religion, Mahayana, Ch'an, and Zen), Snyder assimilated non-western perceptions, as well as metaphors and patterns for poetry. The element in these early cultures which fascinates Snyder is the element of primitive religion, vestiges of which these early cultures bring into modern times. He is especially fascinated with the role of the Shaman, and views himself as a poet/Shaman in the contemporary world, singing out his poetry for the healing of the tribe, the whole society.
Subject Area
British and Irish literature
Recommended Citation
PICKETT, REBECCA A, "GARY SNYDER AND THE MYTHOLOGICAL PRESENT" (1981). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI8120169.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI8120169