Nature Poetry -- Jessica Schwier

Wendell Berry quotes R.H. Blyth when he says, "Poetry is a return to nature: to our own nature, to that of each thing, and to that of all things." He talks of how poetry today is missing a type of wholeness. It is as if poets of today were not taught all they needed to know, and now they lack what once made poetry special. Another point Berry brings up is nature poetry. Although he says many writers use metaphors of nature in their poetry, only few actually right about nature. They captrue its beauty and it is the main focus of their writing. The natural world is used as their inspiration. Why have so many turned away from this? I agree with Berry when he says that most writers do not choose nature as their subject of writing. However, they may include aspects of nature in their writing. I believe this applies greatly to Berry's discussion of efficiency. Because in today's society, people are less concerned with nature and more about production, writers show this in their works. Many people today have lost touch with nature, because of their misusse of land, pollution, and because we value efficiency above all. I believe that Berry was trying to show this connection in his writing. Today, hardly any people are actually concerned with or interested in nature. This is reflected in what people write about and what others read. It is tragic to see that so many people have abandoned nature, when it has always been here for us. Berry makes excellent points about how we value material things over aesthetically pleasing things. I believe that is one problem in our world today. More people should appreciate nature, not production.