A Mesh of Strange Strangers in Juliana Spahr’s Well Then There Now (2011): An Exploration of Timothy Morton’s Ecological Thought

Abstract

In this article, I utilise theoretical concepts from Timothy Morton’s The Ecological Thought (2010) to examine selected poems by Juliana Spahr from her poetry collection Well Then There Now (2011). Many of the poems in this collection, especially “Things of each possible relation hashing against one another” (WT 53 to 67) and “Gentle now, don’t add to heartache” (WT 122 to 133), deal with the interconnectivity of all human and non-human beings. Spahr’s idea of interconnectedness relates philosophically to Morton’s definition of “the ecological thought” as a “practice and a process of becoming fully aware of how human beings are connected with other beings,  animal, vegetable, or mineral” (2010: 107;  2088). It would thus be illuminating to use Morton’s concepts as set out in his ontology about the interconnectivity of all things, in particular, “the mesh” and “the strange stranger”, to read Spahr’s poems in Well Then There Now. “The mesh” imagines interconnectedness and asks, “who or what is interconnected with what or with whom” as an attempt to illustrate that “nothing exist all by itself” (2010: 108; 2088), whereas “the strange stranger” relates to the interconnectivity of all things because it comes forth from the interconnectedness that characterises everything. Morton (2010: 246; 1088) writes: “The strange stranger isn’t just a blank at the end of a long list of life forms we know (aardvarks, beetles, chameleons ... the strange stranger). The strange stranger lives within (and without) each and every being.” The interconnectedness of all things is an interesting characteristic of Spahr’s poems, and Morton’s theoretical concepts provide the necessary tools to emphasise these different relationships extensively.

Opsomming

In hierdie artikel maak ek gebruik van Timothy Morton se teoretiese konsepte soos ontleen aan sy boek The Ecological Thought (2010) om gedigte deur Juliana Spahr van haar poesiebundel Well Then There Now (2011) te bestudeer. Baie van die gedigte in die bundel, veral “Things of each possible relation hashing against one another” (WT 53 tot 67) en “Gentle now, don’t add to heartache” (WT 122 tot 133), handel oor die interafhanklikheid van alle menslike en niemenslike wesens. Spahr se idee van interafhanklikheid kom filosofies ooreen met Morton se definisie van “die ekologiese gedagte” as 'n “practice and a process of becoming fully aware of how human beings are connected with other beings,  animal, vegetable, or mineral” (2010: 107; 2088). Dit sou daarom verhelderend wees om Morton se konsepte soos uitgewerk in sy ontologie van die interafhanklikheid van alle dinge, in die besonder, “maaswerk” en “die vreemde vreemdeling” te gebruik, om Spahr se gedigte in Well Then There Now te lees. Die konsep van “maaswerk” verbeel interafhanklikheid en vra “who or what is interconnected with what or with whom” as 'n poging om te wys dat “nothing exist all by itself” (2010: 108; 2088), waarteenoor “die vreemde vreemdeling” verband hou met die interafhanklikheid van alle dinge omdat dit voortkom uit die verstrengelde aard wat alles kenmerk. Morton (2010: 246; 2088) skryf: “The strange stranger isn’t just a blank at the end of a long list of life forms we know (aardvarks, beetles, chameleons ... the strange stranger). The strange stranger lives within (and without) each and every being.” Die interafhanklikheid van alle dinge is 'n interessante kenmerk van Spahr se poesie, en Morton se teoretiese konsepte voorsien die nodige gereedskap om die verskillende verhoudings op 'n uitgebreide wyse te beklemtoon.