Ecology and Literatures in English: Writing to Save the Planet PDF
Preview Ecology and Literatures in English: Writing to Save the Planet
Ecology and Literatures in English Ecology and Literatures in English : Writing to Save the Planet By Françoise Besson Ecology and Literatures in English: Writing to Save the Planet By Françoise Besson This book first published 2019 Cambridge Scholars Publishing Lady Stephenson Library, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2PA, UK British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Copyright © 2019 by Françoise Besson All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ISBN (10): 1-5275-1804-3 ISBN (13): 978-1-5275-1804-9 To my parents and grandparents who showed me the beauty of nature and the sense of connections between the human and nonhuman worlds; who showed me the fragile strength of a flower and the loving eyes of a dog or a cat; who made me listen to the voices of the world; who guide me on the way to wonder, to awareness and to fight. To my teachers, pupils and students, to my colleagues and friends, who guided me on the paths of the literary world; to my mountain and ecocritical friends throughout the world, from France to Kent and from the United States of America to Brazil, who illuminated my path; and to all the authors — poets, botanists or shepherds —, from Southern France to Canada and to Nigeria, from New Mexico to Montana, who showed me the weight of words, the strength of imagination and the power of dreams. To all our animal companions who, since the first day of my life, have taught me the meaning of love and trust—healing presences even in their physical absence. To all those trustful friends who are always sure that we can save them and show us the way. TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword ..................................................................................................... x The Butterfly, the Rhododendron and the Star Introduction .............................................................................................. xiv Can Literature Save the Earth? Part 1: Literary Genres as Environmental Action Chapter One ................................................................................................. 3 The Theatre Serving Botany: Shakespeare's Gardens Chapter Two .............................................................................................. 14 Romanticism as a Prelude to Ecology? Chapter Three ............................................................................................ 24 Ecological Poetry and Ecopoetics Chapter Four .............................................................................................. 81 Songs as Modern Time Popular Poems to Defend the Earth Chapter Five .............................................................................................. 88 Detective Novels as an Ecological Warning Part 2: Landscape Paintings Revealing Man's Relationship with the World Chapter Six .............................................................................................. 114 Maps of Biodiversity: Travel Writers' Perception of the Wilderness Chapter Seven .......................................................................................... 156 Writing the Colours of the World to Show the Beauty of Nature Chapter Eight ........................................................................................... 169 Comics as Ecological Allegory: Visual Imagination viii Table of Contents Part 3: Imagination to Denounce Devastation Chapter Nine ............................................................................................ 188 From Beech to Book and Vice Versa: Deforestation and Reforestation or the Weight of Texts Chapter Ten ............................................................................................. 216 Streams of Consciousness: The World’s Water and Literary Warnings Chapter Eleven ........................................................................................ 232 The Fantastic to Denounce the Devastation of Lands by the Exploitation of Resources Chapter Twelve ....................................................................................... 239 Aboriginal Literature and the Way to Ecological Awareness Part 4: Animals to Show Man the Way: Nature, Science and Imagination Chapter Thirteen ...................................................................................... 256 Real and Imaginary Animals to Speak about Connections and Responsibility Chapter Fourteen ..................................................................................... 314 Children's Books to Educate Human Children through Animal and Nature Discovery Chapter Fifteen ........................................................................................ 365 Animals to Show Man the Way: The Animal Bond Part 5: Literature as Resistance Chapter Sixteen ....................................................................................... 406 Modern Theatre to Give Nature a Voice Chapter Seventeen ................................................................................... 421 Native Languages as a Means of Resistance Ecology and Literatures in English: Writing to Save the Planet ix Chapter Eighteen ..................................................................................... 430 Literature to Answer the Violence to Lands and Men Conclusion ............................................................................................... 462 Literary Human Voices as the Translators of Nonhuman Voices Select Bibliography ................................................................................. 467 Acknowledgements ................................................................................. 506 Index ........................................................................................................ 513
The list of books you might like
