Pulitzer Prize Poetry Winner

Turtle Island

by Gary Snyder

Summary

These poems imagine North America under its older, indigenous name and call for a reinhabitation of the land grounded in Buddhist practice and ecological humility. Snyder's spare, image-driven lines draw on Zen koans, Native traditions, and the working vocabulary of loggers and farmers. The book became a foundational text for the environmental movement and for a poetics rooted in place.

Historical Context & Significance

Snyder was a figure of the Beat Generation; his win marked the Pulitzer's embrace of "Deep Ecology".