Wild Reckoning:
An Anthology Provoked by Rachel Carsons
Silent Spring
John Burnside and Maurice Riordan, Editors
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, London,
U.K., 2004
254 pp. Paper, £7.50
ISBN: 1-903080-00-2.
Reviewed by Rob Harle (Australia)
recluse@lis.net.au
Wild Reckoning
is a truly inspired creation from the
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. This poetry
anthology consists of over one hundred
poems, some specially commissioned for
the book, others from many of the worlds
greatest poets both past and present.
The criterion for inclusion in the anthology
was poetry that represented the great
tradition of, "nature poetry at its most
imaginative and originalpoems
which explore the relationship between
the human and the non-human". The editors
were determined not to, "gather together
a garland of nice poems about birds
and flowers (p. 21)". They have
succeeded admirably.
The inspiration for this anthology was
provoked by Rachel Carsons
masterpiece Silent Spring. For
those very young readers who may not be
familiar with Carsons work, or those
with failing memory, Silent Spring
was first published in 1962 much to the
horror of government regulatory agencies,
chemical pesticide manufacturing corporations,
and politicians. The public and the popular
press loved the book, and it quickly became
a best seller. This anthology is to celebrate
the 40th anniversary of the books
publication.
Silent Spring not only informed
a largely ignorant public about the insidious
and long-term dangers of the indiscriminate
use of chemical pesticides, especially
DDT, but also exposed the attempts by
government and regulatory agencies to
justify the use of these chemicals by
fiddling the books and deceiving
the public. The American president J.F.
Kennedy, after reading the book, ordered
a scientific studythis study endorsed
Carsons claims and criticised the
chemical companies (p. 17-18).
As with many visionaries and those who
challenge the system, Carson was persecuted,
ridiculed by other scientists, and, of
course, concerted efforts were made by
the chemical companies to discredit her
claims and her qualifications to make
those claims. One of the main points of
attack was that Carson was not a specialist
in the areas of concern. She herself did
not make claims to be writing as a specialist;
in fact, her approach was holistic, and
it was only through this approach that
the dangers she exposed could be understood.
She had two science degrees, and even
after decades of scrutiny almost all her
scientific claims have been vindicated.
The other criticism of Silent Spring
was that it was not written in a scientifically
neutral way. That is, it espoused moral
values, portrayed a passionate feeling
towards the natural world, and, heaven
forbid, it was very well written in a
poetic literary sense.
One of the main aims of the Calouste Gulbenkian
Foundation is to foster rewarding and
productive liasions between science and
art. To this end, the editors of the anthology
commissioned a number of poets to work
directly with scientists to draw out the
best qualities of both disciplines. This
holistic approach reflected the spirit
of Carsons work and resulted in
some very interesting pieces of literature.
I shudder to think of what our
planet would be like today if it had not
been for the insight and tireless effort
of Rachel Carson. If anything, she underestimated
the dangers of excessive and ignorant
use of chemical pesticides because she
did not, as is sometimes thought, advocate
the complete banning of pesticides but
rather proposed an integrated biological
approach. However, many of the chemicals
she investigated are now totally
banned globally, surely a testimony to
her credibility and insight at a time
when few scientists could see past the
end of their laboratory test tubes.
There are so many wonderful poems in Wild
Reckoning, which cover all aspects
of the natural world that it is difficult
to single any out for special mention.
There is one, however, which for me captures
the holistic approach of Carson and our
relationship at the deepest possible level
with nature and that is, "St Kevin and
the Blackbird" by Seamus Heaney. Heaney
won the Nobel Prize in literature, and
this poem also appears in his wonderful
book, The Spirit Level. The poem
tells of St Kevin, who is meditating with
his arm out the window, a blackbird settles
in his open hand and lays her eggs. He
is committed to endure the hardship of
holding his arm outstretched until the
eggs are hatched. In so doing, he truly
achieves a total understanding and unification
with the natural world.
As with St Kevin, so with Rachel Carson.
In Silent Spring she asked us to
try and imagine a "world without birdsong".
This wonderful anthology will go a small
way to making sure such a catastrophe
could never occur.