The Gary Snyder Reader: Prose, Poetry, and Translations

By Gary Snyder

Book Overview

Gary Snyder has been a major cultural force in America for five decades--prize-winning poet, environmental activist, Zen Buddhist, earth-householder, and reluctant counterculture guru. This monumental collection gathers the essays, travel journals, letters, poems, and translations of one of the most influential voices of the twentieth century.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1582430799
• ISBN13: 9781582430799
• Release Date: March 2000
• Publisher: Counterpoint LLC
• Length: 640 Pages
• Weight: 1.96 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

a primer for the 21st century

most of us first heard of snyder though kerouac's dharma bums. and i must confess that is why i was 1st attracted to him and his writings. but to list snyder as just another beat it not only inaccurate it does a diservice to him, his writings and his fearless intellect. snyder is not only a great poet but is also an insightful naturalist and a true zen master. this anthology is actually a zen bible for the 21st century, filled with enjoyable reading and great insights. these writings would make the soul of han shan dance, and sakyamuni smile. this is one of my favorite books. just reading it will lighten your spirit and make your soul dance with joy.

A word gardener sampler

Gary Snyder's power appears to come from mountain, meandering and meditation. In this thick sampler we visit his life to age sixty-eight through notes, prose and poems. The soil of his writings range across a fire lookout station in the Cascade Range, a Japanese Zen temple, the engine room of a Pacific freighter, an audience with the Dalai Lama, work and climbs with Ginsberg, Kerouac, Lew Welch, and Nanao Sakaki, travel in Botswana and Zimbabwe with his sons. The essence of his power is nature. "Nature is not a place to visit, it is home-and within that home territory there are more familiar and less familiar places." Two sons, one Pulitzer, many other awards so far. He writes, he reads, he teaches. One hopes that he never tires of planting words in the soil that is us. If there are any legitimate Earth heroes, Gary Snyder is one.

Capturing the spirit of a poet

Gary Snyder has been an inspiration to me and to a lot of other people for many years now. This book is a joy to read because it gives us so much of his poetry, as well as his philosophy of life, nature and Buddhism over a course of 46 years. Much of it has been pulled from his various books, but reading it again after time has passed brings a new perspective and an added appreciation for the work. Thanks Gary, for doing the real work for all these years.

Snyder has got to be one of the best poets in modern poetry.

Snyder has a way of showing things in life, that the rest of us miss because we are to busy living. Basically I can't say enoough good things aboout his work.