Eco literature depicts the interaction between human and nature through literature. Lately, I have been reading Nadine Gordimer as a writer. The Nobel Prize winner has written extensively on anti-apartheid through her works. Its also worth mentioning her works because the wide array of her literary genius has also highlighted the relationship between human and nature, especially her work, ‘The Conversationist’. I wouldn’t couple the term ‘eco literature’ with ‘eco criticism’ because while the former is a depiction of nature in literature; the latter is an analysis, a study of the interaction of between man and nature.

Cheryll Glotfelty defined ecocriticism as the study of the relationship between literature and the physical environment. In the USA, this critical approach is popularly known as Ecocriticism while in the UK as Green Studies. In the USA, this began in the 1980s, while in the UK it gained traction around 1990s. The founder, Cheryll Glotfelty in the US wrote essays with Harold Fromm titled ‘The Ecocriticism Reader: Landmarks in Literary Ecology’ in 1996. In 1992, she was the founder of association concerning the study of literature and environment. A journal was also launched in the year 1993. Thus, Eco literature became a discipline with its own set of infrastructure in the form of associations and journals.

Since its inception, it was still on the academic margins until a few years ago when the conservation efforts took a militant turn. Environment is in danger! Green politics and their adherents aim to bring forth a sustainable environment. In raising awareness, eco feminism, eco masculinity, deep ecology and such other terms have been taking shape in the academic forum. Eco feminism and eco masculinity go hand in hand. While eco feminism posits that exploitation of women is in direct association with the exploitation of nature; eco masculinity challenges this exploitation and charts men’s role in inhibiting these exploitative patterns. In the Indian context, nature has been worshipped and accorded a religious and spiritual connotation to it. The Chipko Movement is one such example in the conservatory front. This academic field of study highlights the destructive patterns and reasons with the necessity of awareness efforts.

The anthropogenic pressure on our planet is massive. Biodiversity loss, extinction calls upon ecological masculinities which in turn is influenced by masculinities politics, deep ecology, ecological feminism and feminist care theory. The terrible cost brought about by masculinities in winning bread from industries show the perpetuation of slow violence quietly making its way to a catastrophe. Amitav Ghosh in ‘The Nutmeg’s Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis’ sheds light on the current climate crisis. Another example of ecocriticism in the works of Indian diaspora is the works of Kiran Desai, especially ‘The Inheritance of Loss’.

At its outset, ecocriticism is the study of literature and environment. Cultural studies has also stepped in studying the Christian belief of man’s treatment of nature. The colonial project that deepened the exploitative enterprise comes into direct conflict with the core Christian values. There might be differences in your reading list while comparing the US (Ralph Waldo Emerson) approach with the UK (Wordsworth), but the writers have celebrated nature in their works.

References:

1)      Peter Barry – Beginning Theory

      Routledge

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