The fragility of a more-than-human world: Ecological awareness in the poetry of Robert Bringhurst

Abstract

This article examines the poetry and thinking of Robert Bringhurst, a 21st-century Canadian humanist who denounces the depletion of natural resources and environmental degradation brought about by the practices of postcapitalism and neo-liberalism in highly industrialized societies. More specifically, it examines two poems from a sequence entitled “The Living” included in his Selected Poems (2009), “The Living Must Never Outnumber the Dead” and “At Last”, remarkable lyric specimens that testify to Bringhurst’s profound ecological concerns and commitment to writing poetry that addresses the more-than-human world. When reading his intellectually demanding poems and essays, the reader cannot help noticing how an ontology of humility seems to flourish suddenly. Bringhurst’s biocentric poetics invites humans to rethink their place in the cosmos and to recover an awareness of the deep link pervading all living forms if they are to make the Earth a liveable place.