The California Crucible: Literary Harbingers of Deep Ecology

This study aims to explore the zones of contact between the works of five California writers – namelyJohn Muir, Mary Austin, Robinson Jeffers, John Steinbeck and Gary Snyder – and the ecophilosophical stream called deep ecology. The analysis of the texts confirms the hypothesis that all five authors both anticipated and accelerated the form(ul)ation of the tenets of the deep ecology movement. Moreover, Kopecký identifies four factors that constitute the foundations for the deep ecological worldview presented by the authors in their writing. These include philosophical syncretism, gestalt ontology, erudition in natural sciences, and attachment to place. What differentiates these five authors from the dominant human-centered mainstream of American literature is their non-anthropocentric outlook. Their eloquent expression of non-anthropocentric ideas played an important role in the postulation of the theoretical assumptions of deep ecology and also inspired some of its most prominent advocates. Kopecký’s broad and comparative treatment of the subject makes the book accessible not only to scholars, but also to students who are interested in ecocriticism and California literature.