Some poems about climate change, h/t AB
“How to Let Go of the World” by Franny Choi
The author of two poetry collections, Franny Choi wrote this segmented prose poem for the PEN Poetry Series. It simultaneously captures feelings of helplessness and fierce love. It’s a must-read for anyone in need of interrogating personal feelings on the climate crisis.
“Particulate Matter” by Molly Fisk
Fisk, who was recently named an Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellow, currently serves as the poet laureate of Nevada County, California. In 2018 her home state was ravaged by the historical Camp Fire, which destroyed homes and lives. In this poem, published on poets.org, she captures the devastating aftermath of that fire.
“Letter to Noah’s Wife” by Maya C. Popa
In this searching poem, Popa asks the wife of Noah: “Was it you
who gathered flowers once the earth had dried?” The poem, published on poets.org, expresses in beautiful and haunting imagery feelings of helplessness and uncertainty.
who gathered flowers once the earth had dried?” The poem, published on poets.org, expresses in beautiful and haunting imagery feelings of helplessness and uncertainty.
“Warned” by Sylvia Stults
In this deceptively simply poem, Stults gets at some of the deepest and most complex questions of climate change: who to blame and how to move forward. Published at familyfriendpoems.com.
“Evening” by Dorianne Laux
Many works of climate-themed art touch upon human suffering, but in “Evening,” published on poets.org, Laux illuminates the devastating effects of climate change on the natural world. A very moving work by a poet of exquisite skill.
“A Plastic Theatre” by Katie Schaag
This script-poem unveils the various agents of plastic production while capturing in compelling prose the reasons why humans continue to rely so heavily on the material. Published at imaginedtheatres.com
“Metallic Reefs” by Sam Illingworth
The editor of A Sonnet to Science, Illingworth wrote “Metallic Reefs” after being inspired by scientific research on how metal pollutants are endangering coral reefs. A gorgeous poem about a brutal subject.
“Comprador” by Mark Steven
Published this year in Protean magazine, “Comprador” throws down the gauntlet in its argument that “industry” is a code word for “extinction.”
“Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Glacier (after Wallace Stevens)” by Craig Santos Perez
A native Chamorro from Mongmong, Guam, Perez’s poetry focuses on climate change, environmentalism, and colonialism, linking large systemic issues with the small, everyday people, objects, animals, and events we all experience. In this gorgeous poem, he makes clear that the biodiversity of earth is interconnected in vital ways, and that the degradation of one kind of life leads to the degradation of all life. Published on poets.org.
“Some Effects of Global Warming in Lackawanna County” by Jay Parini
“The maples sweat now, out of season.” That’s the first line of this poem by Parini, published at poets.org, which wrestles with the uncanniness of a world wherein even the formerly predictable cycles of the seasons have grown haywire due to climate change.
SEE ALSO:
UPDATED WTH ONE ANSWER: QUESTION FOR PSYCHOLOGISTS:
My 15 year old niece recently asked me if the handlettered
SEE ''photo'' of it here:
https://thebulletin.org/2019/09/greta-thunberg-is-a-painful-reminder-of-decades-of-climate-failures/#.XfRRNDlH63Q.twitter
that
ANSWERS?
https://thebulletin.org/2019/09/greta-thunberg-is-a-painful-reminder-of-decades-of-climate-failures/#.XfRRNDlH63Q.twitter
When I posted this question on Twitter and Facebook, as a friend and admirer of Greta and not as a critic, I like her, I think she is a very interesting person, I received this answer from a practicing pychotherapist in her 70s. She told me:
''My guess would be that the handlettered sign that she carries with her everywhere, on train journeys, ocean saiIboat crossings, and which she clutches in photos almost like she's holding a cherished teddy bear, is for her andher PR team of handlers something that has become iconic, her global signature if you will -- a kind of visual reference to where and how the youth climate demonstrations started -- so I think it's not so much a 'security blanket' or a 'lucky charm' or 'talisman' but not so much for her as for the outside world (rather than for Greta's own psychological well-being.) But I'm only guessing. I have no inside direct line to Greta or her advisors, I'm afraid.
However, that said, let me add this: When I think of all the people, young and old, who have been out on the streets protesting about government inaction on the climate emergency, I find it pretty amazing to think that a year ago none of this -- school strikes, Extinction Rebellion -- had even started. So Greta must be doing something right, no? If she needs it or uses it as a security blanket or talisman to buoy up her own spirits as part of her global appeal and journey, then more power to her."
