Taoist Ideas in A. R. Ammons and Seungho Choi's Ecopoetry

Author: Kim, Won-Chung¹

Source: Comparative American Studies, Volume 7, Number 2, June 2009 , pp. 128-139(12)

Publisher: Maney Publishing

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Abstract:

Though Taoist ideas, an alternative to the Western anthropocentric tradition, have played a crucial role in Deep Ecology and an environmentally-friendly way of life, ecological (re)interpretation of Taoism is still in a rudimentary stage. More detailed studies beyond merely indicating some affinity between ecological ideas and Taoism are needed. In a rare conflation of US and Korean poetry, this article analyses how Taoist ideas are embodied in the ecopoems of A. R. Ammons and Seungho Choi. This comparative study examines how these two poets, placed in different cultures, respectively respond to or appropriate Taoist ideas in their works. Ammons's poems are more metaphysical, using the concepts of Tao, polarity, and wu-wei to provide a foundation for his cosmogony, while Choi employs the concept of Tao and nature in general as norms enabling him to virulently criticize the modern industrial world and to suggest a more ecologically harmonious one.

Keywords: A. R. AMMONS; ECO-DAOISM; KOREAN ECOPOETRY; POLARITY; SEUNGHO CHOI; TAOISM; WU-WEI

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1179/147757009X12482516275647

Affiliations: 1: Sungkyunkwan University, South Korea;, Email: ecopia@skku.edu

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