Green Beat

Gary Snyder (born 1930) is one of the most important poets of the 20th century. The Pulitzer Prize winner's work includes poems, prose, scientific essays and more. Snyder has been the subject of much academic work over the past five decades, and his writing and environmental activism have been recognized by both the public and politicians. As the central figure of the American subcultures, he mainly influenced the beat generation and the hippie movement; it is also associated with more recent phenomena such as the back-to-the-land movement or eco-villages. Snyder is a figurehead and co-founder of American bioregionalism and the environmental and natural philosophy "Deep Ecology": Both are of central importance for the modern environmental movement. Martin Spenger's biography tracks the interfaces between Gary Snyder's life and the major environmental and sociopolitical events in the United States.