The Back Country

By Gary Snyder

Book Overview

This collection is made up of four sections: "Far West"--poems of the Western mountain country where, as a young man. Gary Snyder worked as a logger and forest ranger; "Far East"--poems written between 1956 and 1964 in Japan where he studied Zen at the monastery in Kyoto; "Kali"--poems inspired by a visit to India and his reading of Indian religious texts, particularly those of Shivaism and Tibetan Buddhism; and "Back"--poems done on his return to this country in 1964 which look again at our West with the eyes of India and Japan. The book concludes with a group of translations of the Japanese poet Miyazawa Kenji (1896-1933), with whose work Snyder feels a close affinity. The title, The Back Country, has three major associations; wilderness. the "backward" countries, and the "back country" of the mind with its levels of being in the unconscious.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0811201945
• ISBN13: 9780811201940
• Release Date: January 1971
• Publisher: New Directions Publishing Corporation
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.36 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.2" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Beautiful, Understated, Moving Poetry

I had to read many of the poems in this volume while taking a college course in Beat Literature, but in this reviewer's opinion the careful, Eastern-oriented poetry by Snyder has a mystical quality sorely lacking in poetry by writers like Kerouac, Corso, Ferlinghetti and even Ginsberg. Snyder captures the mountains of the pacific northwest, human relationships, campfires, and the mysteries of the far east in a careful and understated style. He sometimes makes use of the ancient Japanese style of haiku, and in all of his poems he seems to have rich, abundant ideas which he is able to convey in relatively few words. I have come back to this volume repeatedly over the years, and it always reveals a new secret and joy each time. Think of Snow Falling on Cedars in poetry form.

Amazing!

This collection of poetry changed my life, I was deeply engaged with each installment!