Strange Places

tracing the poetry/philosophy loop

Posted by Daniela Elza on Mar 29 2009

I want to thank Dr. James Hatley (Professor of Philosophy) for his comment on my work. He was the guest editor of the special issue of Environmental Philosophy journal titled Species of Thought: In the Approach of a More-that-Human World. I sent a number of my crow poems in the form of a poessay, five of which got selected for publication. The manuscript I am putting together now will be all my crows, all together. Hopefully it will find a publisher that would release them into the world. Crows have a special place for me in my work. I feel connected to them and I cannot ignore them. Anyway, back to the editorial in which Professor Hatley says:

“How greatly must human language be stretched, how creative must we become in both our perceiving and our speaking, if we are to witness responsibly the human world? Daniela Elza’s poem In the Eye of a Crow comes directly after [Cheryl] Lousely’s essay as an exemplar of another sort of writing and subjectivity that might be more in line than that of [Farley] Mowat with sustaining our responsibilities to the living world. Among the innovative features of her poem, Elza asks that its open verse structure be read in all possible directions on the page. In requesting this of her readers, she is moving them to a more radical responsibility in regard to the words she has offered on behalf of a crow. She is also breaking open any controlling narrative structure by which the hold upon another living entity’s world might be solidified.”

I am thrilled that the work is communicating with its form and content on the philosophical level as well. This much appreciated feedback adds to the spiraling loop between writer and reader. Thank you, Dr. Hatley.