Gary Snyder Books

I use the essays in The Practice of the Wild in some of the classes I teach. Gary Snyder has a profound sense of place, the wilds, and keen heartfelt vision for the possibilities of our human place in the nature of things. His writings inspires us to deepen our own relationship to self, community, and place... especially in the terrain of the wilds. Like his essays in Turtle Island these essays will stand the test of time.

From the git-go, I've got to tell you: this is a difficult, challenging book. Not because of the thought or content, but because of the loose and sometimes pedantic writing style. Gary Snyder the poet is a different critter than Gary Snyder the essayist. The syntax is awkward - Snyder asks that you jump across the chasms of comprehension with him. So, you make the disconcerting leap, and your comprehension is left hanging, with nothing to really hang on to.

Gary Snyder is in the role of prophet, as he talks about a "culture of wilderness". But he never elucidates on this - I have not a clue what he means by this term, since he doesn't elaborate on this notion. He talks about a return to the "commons" of historical times - and there is a cogent discussion of this in the essay "The Place, the Regions, and the Commons". "Good, Wild, Sacred" and "Ancient Forests of the Far West" are the other two essays that are fairly lucid.

Yet, I've got to say, the other six essays are pedantic and almost incoherent. It is very hard to follow the discursive twists and turns in this writing. Is Snyder trying to impress his fellow professors at UC Davis with his acumen? We have to be lectured at on the etymologies of many words to the point where the narrative momentum gets slack.

The thoughts and content seem legitimate; but the writing style is certainly not. His observations are valid; but with non-sequiturs abounding, with generalizations of human history and philosophy tucked into tangents running off to the horizon, the poor reader is left in the quicksands of incomprehension.

In all fairness, you might consider taking a pass on this one. I rarely review a 3 star book, prefering to stay on the positive side of things. This one is one of those rarities.

Extracts: A Field Guide for Iconoclasts

The Cloud Reckoner

to find our way back from complete devastation will require that we listen to those who have known the way home a long time - gary snyder introduces us to that knowledge in these essays - this book will be read as long as there are people who read books as we know them - may that be a very long time.

Few books about nature excite me; most leave me bored. Snyder's mastery of language and depth of thought create a riveting exploration. I have recommended this book to many people, and all who have read it treasure it.

This book (a series of nine essays) moves a bit slow, but the pacing is perfect for the style of writing. The essays were on nature, the definition and impact of nature, and instead of vitriolic bashing of human's interaction with nature, Snyder shows that we could live in harmony with our sacred places. I reccommend you read the essays one at a time, and take your time with them. They really make you think about how each culture interacts with the region they are in, and how sometimes we do take our relationship to the wild the wrong way. It is both poetic, and scientific, the perfect education.

This is a wonderful discussion of the concept of nature, delving back into ancient Chinese and Japanese concepts of nature. Snyder defines what nature has meant through history and what it means today to be losing it.

Gary Snyder is an American treasure - a great writer and poet whose thoughtful approach to life and literature will enrich the spirit of anyone who reads him. This collection of essays explores the relation between nature and the spirit in a way that might be thought of as part-Beat and part-Thoreau but is, ultimately, very original and thoughtful. The first few essays in the book seemed a bit difficult and inaccessible compared to the last several, which were clear and brilliant.

When asked to recommend one book for young people, writer Jim Harrison picked "The Practice of the Wild" for its poetic sanity. I read Snyder's unpretentious collection while commuting on the train every morning one summer into downtown Chicago. The epiphanies came fast and furious as I sped through the city's West Side. The wisdom of Snyder's thinking is that he doesn't blindly differentiate between the "human world" and "wilderness"--people bad, nature good--but helps us see the beauty in everything. Like his poetry, Snyder's prose is funny and illuminating, capturing the rough texture of the world. "The Practice of the Wild" is a treasure.

In much the same way as other reviewers I found Gary Snyder's book "Practice of the Wild" a very enjoyable read, I was originally pointed to it through the amazing work of Jack Turner's "The Abstract Wild" where he refered to it. Although nowhere near as intense or so purely full of power as Turner's book it is fluid and poetic. One of the first things that strikes you is Snyder's astonishing grasp of just about anything, his knowledge of foreign languages is acute, the width of understanding boggles the mind. It must also be remembered that he spent some years in Japan studying as a Zen monk, this would of course have introduced him to Japanese and through it Chinese characters, poetry etc. Snyder seems a remarkable man, this book as well as illuminating the human condition and its need for true wildness, not in the ordinary sense of the term but as native peoples perceive it or rather live it, is a kind of autobiography, maybe I should say a telling of the story of Snyder himself. You become intimately connected to his life, which is really quite incredible, the sort of life where he could no longer say in old age that "I never did what I wanted to", Snyder has really lived, a lumberjack, a monk, an anthropologist, poet etc etc.

The book is interspersed with scientific detail of the living world and then up comes a very poetic passage somehow interconnected without one feeling it is incoherent as he slips from poetic to hard science. What a life he has lived, what experience that simply cannot be ignored, "The Practice of the Wild" is written by someone who must be heard, whose message is human in every way, an ecologist, conservationist, logger, rancher. Too bad other people : politicians, law makers, company executives etc etc haven't lived like this, maybe their own similar experience could really change the world, maybe through this book they will decide to live at least in more than an abstract way when it comes to the natural world.

Snyder's "The Practice of the Wild" is an exciting challenge to all of us to reconnect through myth, song, stories, culture, to the places we live and take for granted. It is accessible, fun, and enlightening. Snyder questions basic assumptions that we have, and examines the idea that listening to the land and its spirits will help us develop a new ethic. "It is appropriate to feel loyalty to a given glacier; it is advisable to investigate the whole water cycle; and it is rare and marvelous to know that glaciers do not always flow and that mountains are always walking." Tying together science, politics, and poetry, Snyder has asked each of us to discover what it is about our self that yearns to be whole, and points out that this wholeness can come through the wild.

Don't get me wrong this book is a great read with all the right information taken from all four corners of the fitness world. However, this is also marketed as the first of two phases....the second of which is meant to carried out on www.liveitordiet.com where if you check (as I did) there is nothing.

In short, great book, good education as to the complexities of nutrition and the effects it could be having on you, although not so good follow through.

What a wonderful book. Such insight and wonderful information presented in a fun and easy to read format. Donna and Dr. Snyder really hit home with their diet program... especially their information regarding food allergies. This is a must read for anyone who wants to live a longer, livelier and healthy life.

Review for Burn Fat for Fuel Fat to Fabulous in Only 28Days

My husband and I are both "into" this book and its"Live It or Diet System." We are both over fifty, and aware thatwe need to eat right,watch our weight , get more exercise - and weneed inspiration.Donna.Michaels-Surface inspires us in her new book"Burn Fat for Fuel.

With her example, her stories,and her greatsense of humor( one of her chapters is called " `A Little Behindin a Big Hurry' Lower Body Routine"), she is able to communicate tous in simple terms complex information.

As a breast cancer survivorand one of the many perimenopausal women of today, I personallyappreciate her explanations of cellulite and what todo about it ( HereI was thinking it was hopeless!), estrogen,testosterone etc. She alsohas inspired meto lift those weights and offers great instruction andphotos of howto do those lunges and other exercises correctly.

Since I have read this book my life has changed. I have lost inches and gained energy and motvation. Donna has done a great service and I appreciate the understanding that comes across in the book. It is fuuny and tells my story alot. Finding the foods that don't work for me has been a great help and I am able to finally get a good nights sleep. I could go on and on but theres too much to be excited about. The book is a must have !!!

Turtle Island is probably Gary Snyder's best known book - an award winning book. The "museum piece" teaser in the review summary refers to the short essay at the end of the book arguing cogently for a reduction in population, a more communal life style, etc. - a piece well written in its time but one that has portions which need rewriting in light of the increased opportunities for recycling etc. The poetry, however, does stand the test of time. Snyder's poetry reflects the directness of Zen poetry - his nature is real nature not nature conjured up for imagery or "concreteness". His knowledge of mythological symbols - including Turtle Island - is deep; his is not a superficial borrowing. Gary Snyder would be on my short list of "most know" poets and Turtle Island is a good place start becoming familiar with his work.

Even three decades after its publication which won for Gary Snyder the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, this text of poems and essays remains a classic of 20th-century American poetry and environmental literature. I look forward to teaching it again in a college classroom later this winter and introducing a new generation of students to the power of Snyder's poetry and ideas.

...And a message for you.

I've never reviewed a book of poetry before. Short of "Roses are red...", or "There once was a man from Nantucket...", I'm not sure I could recognize good poetry from bad. And other than a bit of exposure to Emerson, Poe, and Jeffers, I haven't been everywhere that poetry can take you. But this stuff seemed pretty good. It was full of playful imagery, flowed well, and it wasn't so experimental that I got completely lost.

In summary, consider it a pinnacle of 70's hip-thought. If you read "Sleeping where I fall", you'll realize that not a few people wanted to be where Snyder's head was at. I'm not sure how many made it though - too much baggage. I'm not all with Snyder's way of thinking either. But I appreciate his choice of medium, and his attempt to get past expressing the unexpressable.

i first read some of the poems in a bookstore waiting for my grandfather one day. slowly i flipped through the pages, reading several poems to get a feel for the book, which is quite different from Gary Snyder's other works, but in a good way (as he describes in his forward). his other works, each of them, seem to have more of a common theme or idea to them, where as in this book it is a compilation of poems from 1947-1985. these poems range from the Pacific Northwest Coast, to New York City, to Kyoto, to love. All of his poems hold true to Mr. Snyder's broad style, so if you enjoy his poems i am sure you will enjoy this compilation.

Left Out in the Rain is a free-verse poetry collection by Gary Snyder, winner of the Pulitzer Prize among other awards. In his twenties, he labored as a forester and logger; one of his experienced co-workers told him, "If you're gonna work these woods, don't want nothing that can't be left out in the rain." That phrase became the title and binding theme of Left Out In The Rain, which examines human experiences in relation to the environment that encompasses them. The diversity of the often brief verses makes each one linger in the mind as bright flicker of momentary insight, in this compilation highly recommended for poetry enthusiasts. The Taste: I don't know where it went / Or recall how it worked / What one did / What the steps were / Was it hands? / Or the words and the tune? / All that's left / Is a flavor / That stays

This collection is a companion volume to "Earth House Hold," his earlier group of interviews published up to 1969. "The Real Work" pulls together interviews from The Berkeley Barb, Road Apple, and East West publications, as well as an interview with John Jacoby of Southern Methodist University on the forms and functions of poetry. It's as far-ranging a collection as Snyder's lifelong interests -- the "real work" of living, creating, and conserving, the connection between spirituality and what Snyder calls "the bioregional ethic." For more formal essays on the individual's role in conservation, Snyder's 1990 book, "The Practice of the Wild," continues many of the themes explored in "The Real Work."

I've always preferred Gary Snyder's prose over his poetry. That is why this book is so good -- filled with essays and interviews, it manages to be simultaneously insightful and revolutionary.

This work would be a great introduction to the work and politics of Gary Snyder. Even if you dislike, or are unsure of his poetry, I would encourage you to at least check out this book; a knowledge of his poetry is not a prerequisite for enjoying and learning from it.

Only one work from this volume, "The East West Interview" was excerpted in the Gary Snyder Reader that was recently published. So, even if you have that book, there will not be much repetition.

Peaceful, relaxing reading of Master Dogen's writings by Gary Snyder. Maybe if I listen to it another 10-20 times I will start to make some sense of most of the inner meanings! What is it with rivers and mountains, anyway?

I find listening to this tape over and over and over like a music tape, I am getting into Dogen's mind a little, and it is actually starting to make sense!!!! Egads, I should check myself in! It is really a different experience hearing it and trying to follow it, as compared to reading it. It has become sort of like poetry for me, I guess. Thanks to Gary Snyder and Kaz and Dogen. gassho.

Gary Snyder is America's greatest living poet.his keen, ever perfectly clear vison is based in the glint of rivers and the muted sheen of glistening rocks under jasmine colored waves, bountiful white clouds and spirit incandescent and meteoric.... He writes of concrete on highway 5, Toyota Tercels, and the animistic world of noble pines and bobcat scat..His Haikus are the best ever written...his narrative before certain poems is articulate, revealing and deep without any pretension...For instance: "If you want to view the world you live in climb a rocky mountain with a neat small peak. But the big snow peaks pierce the world of clouds and cranes, rest in the zone of five colored banners and writhing crackling dragons in veils of ragged mist and frost crystals, into a pure transparancy of blue." He knows the "Three Sisters". He has climbed into their deeper essence. He writes of today and of humanity, daily life, of commitment and courage and eating at fast food places...I have long admired his work and this is as good as Axe Handles and Regarding Wave...I have lived in the Pacific Northwest in my younger days..He almost alone, awakened me to its noble grandeaur....One of America's finest poets ever...

This collection of "poems" is embarrassingly bad from beginning to end. Little more than notes, the stuff would not be published if it weren't Snyder. He has done nothing since the Beats, and did very little back then. Why bother publishing him at all?

Danger On Peaks is Gary Synder's first collection of new poems in twenty years and begins with poems about his first ascent of Mt. St. Helens in 1945. Offering a body of verse in a diversity of styles, Synder's work was a 2004 National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist and showcases a unique voice in contemporary American poetry. She Knew All About Art: She knew all about art -- she was fragrant, soft,/I rode to her fine stone apartment, hid the bike in the hedge./--We met at an opening, her lover was brilliant and rich,/first we would talk, then drift into long gentle love,/We always made love in the dark. Thirty years older than me.

This collection of poetry is exactly what every collection should be: intelligent, well written, and entertaining. Every poem is carefully crafted by Snyder and can evoke a wide range of emotions that many modern poets miss out on. The only possibly downside (a tiny one) is that many of these poems are very close to being prose. A very good read on a wide variety of subjects. The best, in my opinion, is a toss-up between "Atomic Dawn" and "One Thousand Cranes".

...can be a little belittling and arrogant? I remember his character in 'The Dharma Bums' when he gives a beautiful yodel after reaching the top of a mountain. Kerouac later asks him to do it again, but Snyder says such a yodel is not ment to be heard by low landers. His sense of superiority is again on display in 'danger on peaks'. Again and again he makes observations while looking down his nose. Such as commenting that a lookout stop near Mt. St. Helens no longer attracts tourists 'once the dump trucks stopped'. Oh Gary, how it must pain you to be among us common folk. Surprizing, since you market yourself as a poet of the common folk.

We can forgive poets like Pound and Elliot for their snobbishness. They were nuts by any general definition. But Snyder's poetry in the first person grates after time. He could take a cue from Robert Frost. When Frost wrote of 'swinging from birches' or out walking in the New England snow you never felt it was Frost really - some third party Frost was channeling. But with Snyder it's all about Snyder. He trys to be the new Walt Whitman but can't quite find the soul. Much of Whitman was forged from a gentle man serving in a horrible war. What did Snyder ever do, really? He writes about being a fire lookout here and working on a ship there as if he's just an 'every man'. When actually he's done as little real work as possible and mostly promoted the 'idea' of Gary Snyder - 'Zen Poet Beat Surviver Matured Master'.

Read this book if you like. It's very nice actually. For Gary Snyder it probably won't get any better than this. As he says himself in the poem 'Waiting for a Ride' - 'most of my work, such as it is, is done'.

MYTHS & TEXTS provides a drama play of the mind temple which is posed at a point of watershed where human evolutional trends of literary, spiritual. religious, cultural, anthropological, and philosophical quests converge in word of poetry and represented in condensed forms. It also opens the access to the postmodern world of open space that we either knowingly or unknowingly are posed in. Where the vista is cosmic, mind is never lost but most expanded though inwardly. Sailing along, you'll find that not only the mountain but the Universe is your mind.

(P.S.: A thorough study and thesis was written but unpublished.)

Gary Snyder is a poet whose body of work spans his entire life. In "Myths and Texts" Snyder shows the upward slope of his evolution as a poet. His voice is distinct and drives the form of his words. His cadence is practically one with the surrounding nature of the mythologies he constantly creates and re-creates. The imagery is easy to visualize due to Snyder's connection with nature.

MYTHS & TEXTS provides a drama play of the mind temple which is posed at a point of watershed where human evolutional trends of literary, spiritual. religious, cultural, anthropological, and philosophical quests are converged and depicted in condensed forms. It also opens the access to the postmodern world of open space that we either knowingly or unknowingly are posed in. Where the vistas is cosmic, the mind is never lost but most expanded inwardly. Sailing along, you'll find that not only the mountain but the the Universe is the mind.

(P.S.: A thorough study and thesis was written but unpublished. It can be reached through contact.)

Hoo! this singular syllable is all that can be used to attempt to describe this. snyder's short eternal truths, his exact observations and his simplistic morals are all explored beyond what anyone else has done or will do. snyder's life is chronicled by himself in this series of poems that everyone who has heard of poetry must read.