Genesis, Structure, and Meaning in Gary Snyder's "Mountains and Rivers Without End"

出版者:University of Nevada Press

作者:Hunt, Anthony

页数:328

出版时间:2004-3

价格:$ 45.14

isbn号码:9780874175455

具体描述

When Gary Snyder's long poem "Mountains and Rivers Without End" was published in 1996, it was hailed as a masterpiece of American poetry, yet it has not hitherto been the subject of a book-length critical study. Now, Anthony Hunt offers a detailed historical and explicative analysis of this complex work using, among his many sources, Snyder's personal papers, letters, and interviews.Hunt traces the work's origins and genesis, as well as some of the myriad sources of its themes and structure, including Nt drama; East Asian landscape painting; the rhythms of storytelling, chant, and song; Jungian archetypal psychology; world mythology; Buddhist philosophy and ritual; Native American traditions; planetary geology, hydrology, and ecology. His analysis addresses the poem not merely by its content but through the structure of individual lines and the arrangement of the parts, examining such personal and cultural influences on Snyder's work as his extensive travels in Asia, his association with the Beat movement of the 1950s, and his observations of the natural world, as well as the role of various mythological, religious, ecological, and political concepts and images.Hunt's benchmark study of "Mountains and Rivers Without End," which he considers a "fundamental wisdom text for the modern ecological movement," is a richly perceptive work of analysis, written in a clear and straightforward style but completely sensitive to the subtleties, nuances, and intricacies of the poem. It will be rewarding reading for anyone who enjoys the contemplation of Snyder's artistry and ideas and, more generally, for those who are intrigued by the workings of artistic composition, as well as those readers ofpoetry--whether ecologists, Buddhists, philosophers, or backpackers--who are interested in cultural and intellectual affairs.

用户评价

这本书的叙事声音具有一种近乎祭司般的庄重和疏离感。它不试图去迎合读者，也不刻意去建立亲密感，它只是以一种绝对自信的姿态，陈述着它所观察到的世界运行的法则。这种声音的纯粹性，让人联想到那些在雪山之巅或深林之中的隐士，他们的话语不再受制于日常交流的琐碎规则，而是直接指向了宇宙的本源。我感受到的不是冰冷，而是一种深远的慈悲，它似乎在提醒我们，人类的挣扎与荣耀，在更长远的时间尺度和更广袤的空间背景下，是如何的微不足道又何其珍贵。这种声音的穿透力极强，它迫使你暂时放下自我中心的世界观，去适应一种更为古老、更为包容的视角。

这部作品的语言风格呈现出一种令人惊叹的张力和克制之间的完美平衡。我发现作者在叙事时，似乎总能在宏大叙事与个体细节之间游刃有余地穿梭。时而，你会感受到一股强大的、近乎史诗般的洪流席卷而来，那些词汇的选择充满了大地和时间的重量感，仿佛能听到山脉的呼吸和河流的低语；但紧接着，笔锋一转，又会聚焦于某个微不足道的自然瞬间，比如一片叶子在水面上旋转的轨迹，或是某种昆虫振翅的频率，这种切换毫无斧凿之感，反而让整个文本的肌理更加丰富和立体。这种对语言的驾驭能力，远超出了普通文学作品的范畴，它更像是一种对存在本质的精妙刻画，让人在阅读时不得不频繁停下来，细细咀嚼那些看似寻常却蕴含无限意味的词组，思考其背后的哲学引申。

阅读完合上书本的那一刻，我深吸了一口气，感觉周围的空气都变得不同了。这不是那种读完畅快淋漓的商业小说后获得的满足感，而是一种被深深洗礼、精神层面获得重塑的宁静。这种作品的独特之处在于，它不直接提供答案，而是提供了一种探索真理的工具和路径。它在你脑海中留下了一片广阔的空白地带，但这空白并非虚无，而是充满潜能的“待耕之地”。仿佛是，作者在前面引路，指出了一条通往内在旷野的道路，而接下来的行走、感悟和意义的构建，则完全落在了读者自身的肩上。这是一种非常负责任的文学姿态，它尊重读者的主体性，邀请我们共同参与到意义的完成之中，使每一次重读都可能带来全新的启示和感悟。

从结构上看，这部著作的组织方式极具挑战性，却也因此迸发出惊人的美感。它并非采用线性的、传统的叙事路径，反而更像是一种螺旋上升的、多维度的编织艺术。章节之间的关联性并非通过明确的故事情节推动，而是依赖于主题的反复回响、意象的交织映射，以及某种潜藏的节奏感。这种非线性的布局，要求读者必须时刻保持警觉，用心灵而非仅仅是逻辑去捕捉那些散落在文本各个角落的线索，并将它们重新整合。初读时，可能会有几处感到迷惘，但一旦掌握了作者构建的内部逻辑——那种基于自然循环和精神探索的逻辑——就会发现，所有的看似分散的片段，最终都汇聚成了同一个宏大而自洽的整体，这种“豁然开朗”的体验，是阅读体验中最令人振奋的部分之一。

这本书的装帧设计着实令人眼前一亮，封面选用了那种略带粗粝质感的纸张，触感温润而沉实，中央的留白恰到好处地衬托出书名那种古朴而深邃的气韵。我尤其欣赏排版师在章节间的过渡处理上所展现出的细腻心思，那些微小的符号和字距的调整，让阅读过程本身变成了一种视觉上的享受，仿佛每一次翻页都是在与某种远古的智慧进行一次庄重的对话。墨水的选用也很有讲究，那种深沉的黑，在米黄色的纸面上显现出一种历久弥新的力量感，让人联想到古籍的厚重，却又不失现代印刷的清晰锐利。初捧此书，便感觉自己已然脱离了日常的喧嚣，被一种仪式感十足的氛围轻轻环绕，预示着接下来的阅读体验绝非泛泛之辈，而是一场需要全神贯注、甚至需要调动全身感官去体会的旅程。它成功地营造了一种氛围，让读者在尚未触及核心文本之前，就已经对作者所欲构建的那个世界产生了强烈的敬畏感和探索欲。