1. Raising ecological consciousness through eco-sensitive poetry

2.  Eco-poetry can inspire a broad awareness for our
environment by presenting different ecological
perspectives.
 Eco-poetry is often marked by an appreciation for
nature as self-regulating cyclic systems, separate from
nature and environmental poetry.
 Eco-poetry is clear and somewhat minimalist; rather
than experimenting with visual and textual
design, eco-poets dedicate their efforts to the aesthetic
flow of their work by creating a fluid message through
organized stanzas.

3. “Today we very much need sustainable poetry.”
--L.M. Scigaj

4. sus·tain·able
adj sə-ˈstānə-bəl
-
Definition of SUSTAINABLE
1 : capable of being sustained
2 a : of, relating to, or being a method of harvesting or
using a resource so that the resource is not depleted or
permanently
damaged <sustainable techniques> <sustainable agricult
ure>b : of or relating to a lifestyle involving the use of
sustainable methods <sustainable society>
— sus·tain·abil·i·ty noun

5.  Ecological poetry promotes awareness of the
environment and the natural world, including its
current realistic state.
 Ecopoetry inspires awareness by presenting ecological
perspectives of sustainability.
 This poetry implies that the interests of humans and
nature should be balanced.

6.  This message becomes attainable when our
relationship to nature and our environment is
recognized ~> the option for sustainability can be
considered as a part of our daily lives.
 Ecopoetry is a possible medium to purvey this
message.

7.  “The ethics behind sustainability are derived from the
same principle of bio-centric harmony. Simply
stated, sustainability means that humans can harvest a
sufficient amount of a natural resource for consumption
so long as we do not deplete the resource base” (Scigaj
78).
 Implying the need for bio-centric harmony is an
indicative attribute of eco-poetry.

8.  Through a creative medium, eco-poetry helps to create
recognition of our interdependency on the biosphere.
 Writers are able to compose and inspire awareness with
eco-poetry, not simply by the use of hard science, but by
understanding our existence and how it correlates with
nature, and the environment.

9.  Eco-poetry is clear and somewhat minimalist; rather
than experimenting with visual and textual
design, eco-poets dedicate their efforts to the aesthetic
flow of their work by creating a fluid message through
organized stanzas.
 Eco-poetry is often marked by an appreciation for
nature as self-regulating cyclic systems, separate
from nature and environmental poetry.

10. It helps us define our relationship to
nature:
 “A sustainable poem is the verbal record of the
precept, of the poet’s originary perception” (Scigaj
80).
 “It is the verbal record of an interactive
encounter...between the human psyche and
nature, where nature retains its autonomy-- where
nature is not dominated, reduced to
immanence, or reduced to a reliably benign
aesthetic backdrop for anthropocentric concerns”
(Scigaj 80).

11.  Eco-poets actively assist nature in keeping a form of
separateness and autonomy, and also equality, through
awareness maintained by creating ecopoetry.
 Ultimately, the language of expression and ecological
awareness is homologous to the way our ecosystems
function.
 Language as a form of expression in eco-poetry stands
apart from other creative forms of writing.
 It is a flexible tool that relates the experiences and
perceptions of the corporeal body.

12. Abbs, Peter. Earth Songs: A Resurgence Anthology of
Contemporary Eco-Poetry. Green Books UK, 2003.
Fesltiner, John. Can Poetry Save the Earth?: A Field
Guide to Nature Poems. Yale University Press, 2009.
Scigaj, Leonard M. Sustainable Poetry: Four American
Ecopoets. Lexington: UP of Kentucky, 1999.