Constrasting thoughts and images seem to dominate this Snyder poem, and it is no suprise that this poem is yet again about, hiking in nature. “Above Pate Valley” is not as renoun as “Riprap”, but there are still applicable critiques and analysis’ of Snyder for this poem. It is of course always easier to think about a poem if it is right in front of you so here is the poem, “Above Pate Valley”.
Above Pate Valley
by Gary Snyder
We finished clearing the last
Section of trail by noon,
High on the ridge-side
Two thousand feet above the creek
Reached the pass, went on
Beyond the white pine groves,
Granite shoulders, to a small
Green meadow watered by the snow,
Edged with Aspen—sun
Straight high and blazing
But the air was cool.
Ate a cold fried trout in the
Trembling shadows. I spied
A glitter, and found a flake
Black volcanic glass—obsidian—
By a flower. Hands and knees
Pushing the Bear grass, thousands
Of arrowhead leavings over a
Hundred yards. Not one good
Head, just razor flakes
On a hill snowed all but summer,
A land of fat summer deer,
They came to camp. On their
Own trails. I followed my own
Trail here. Picked up the cold-drill,
Pick, singlejack, and sack
Of dynamite.
Ten thousand years.
This poem is similar to many of Snyder’s in that it is about nature, specifically hiking. But unlike “Riprap” this poem does not seem to focus as much on an overall analogy but what I noticed were the striking contrasts that Snyder gives. For instance he has references to the blazing sun in the beginning and how it is high in the sky, yet the air is cool. He then goes on to mention cool trout and cool shadows, each of which contrast the blazing sun. The opposite images and ideas continue in this poem after Snyder speaks of the 1000 foot tall, steep cliffs, and then procedes to search on his hands and knees for tiny pieces of obsidean.
It may be a struggle at first because it seems as if Snyder is making nature out to be this great and powerful thing, but later there is a dissapointed tone when he cannot find the arrowheads he wants. It is interesting that he does not overplay nature in this poem like many other poets would do, he simply mentions it, but does not make it out to be all powerful. Like one blogger says about the poem,
Appreciative of ‘nature’, but he doesn’t side with nature or condemn himself either–but mostly accepts his actions or his trail–which may be what history is like but comprised of many others
This is a comment made by an anonymous blogger on a poetry blog site that can be accessed here. This is just an average person commenting on this poem but it really makes sense. Snyder does not overplay nature but just accepts it as a beautiful thing. Some different views can be taken on this poem as well.
One critic from the university of Illinois named Todd Ensign has studied Snyder for years. He wrote an article online on ModernAmericanpoetry.com titled “Gary Snyder; a post-modern perspective”. As you might guess this takes a look at Snyder’s post-modern analysis, including his political goals. He is quoted writing,
Gary Snyder is one of the most passionate environmentalist-poets of the postmodern era…Snyder uses images of our environment, to re-establish our connection to the world in order to promote political change that addresses the ecological problems which face our capitalistic, image-driven culture.
The political approach to poetry is one that does not necessarily cross my mind right away but it is certainly accurate. Snyder is a bonafide environmental activist so it only makes sense he would use strong images of the environment to cause political change. In other words Gary Snyder wants nature preserved so he writes in order to achieve this. In this poem, he not only describes what seems to me is a breathtaking mountain pass that is thick with brush. He then finds some obsidian rocks that may have once been arrowheads but they are too worn away to tell. At the end of the poem it simply says Ten thousand years, perhaps making a point that nature is an ancient timeline that must be preserved. So given Snyder’s background of hiking and geing a nature activist it seems fitting that he would use his poetry to try to inspire change in government to protect the environment he loves. I know that i certainly would not wish to destroy something so great and yet so delicate, something so ‘hot and cold’ and filled with contrasts. This poem is intriguing because of all of these opposites and uncertainties. A natural timeline should not be destroyed and “Above Pate Valley” seems to convey this message pretty well, maybe it even influenced political figures over the years, who knows? A complete text of Todd Ensign’s article on Gary Snyder is available here, link.
