'This essay argues that Martin Harrison's "Red Gum" (1997) showcases a phenomenological approach to natural and built environments that anticipates later developments in what would now be called ecopoetics. First, the essay analyzes the poem's rhetoric, imagery, and intertextuality, especially its half-buried allusions to David Campbell's Branch of Dodona (1970). Then, it explores the possible impact of the digital communications revolution on "writing ecology" by comparing "Red Gum" to a more recent poem, Fiona Hile's "Stripes" (2013).' (Publication abstract)
'This essay argues that Martin Harrison's "Red Gum" (1997) showcases a phenomenological approach to natural and built environments that anticipates later developments in what would now be called ecopoetics. First, the essay analyzes the poem's rhetoric, imagery, and intertextuality, especially its half-buried allusions to David Campbell's Branch of Dodona (1970). Then, it explores the possible impact of the digital communications revolution on "writing ecology" by comparing "Red Gum" to a more recent poem, Fiona Hile's "Stripes" (2013).' (Publication abstract)