Literature for a Changing Planet

Literature for a Changing PlanetDiscover a transformative journey through time and narrative with 'Literature for a Changing Planet' by Martin Puchner. This essential read, published by Princeton University Press in 2022, explores the intersection of literature and the urgent climate crisis we face today. Acknowledging the amplified significance of storytelling in these precarious times, Puchner reflects on over four thousand years of global literature to unveil critical lessons on

Discover a transformative journey through time and narrative with 'Literature for a Changing Planet' by Martin Puchner. This essential read, published by Princeton University Press in 2022, explores the intersection of literature and the urgent climate crisis we face today. Acknowledging the amplified significance of storytelling in these precarious times, Puchner reflects on over four thousand years of global literature to unveil critical lessons on our relationship with the environment. Literature is not merely entertainment; it is an archive of our human experience, intertwined with the ecological scars of exploitation and resource depletion.

From ancient texts like the Epic of Gilgamesh to pivotal works such as the Communist Manifesto, this book illuminates how literary narratives have simultaneously reflected and shaped our understanding of nature and sustainability. Puchner implores readers to rethink their connection with the earth and offers vital insights into how we can use literature as a powerful tool for ecological understanding and activism. In a world grappling with climate emergency, this book serves as both a historical reflection and a hopeful guide, encouraging us to craft a new narrative for our collective future.

Condition: BRAND NEW
ISBN: 9780691213750
Format: Trade binding
Year: 2022
Publisher: Princeton University Press

Note: Shipping for this item is free. Please allow up to 6 weeks for delivery. Once your order is placed, it cannot be cancelled.

Note: Shipping for this item is free. Please allow up to 6 weeks for delivery. Once your order is placed, it cannot be cancelled.
Condition: BRAND NEW
ISBN: 9780691213750
Format: Trade binding
Year: 2022
Publisher: Princeton University Press


Description:



Reading literature in a time of climate emergency can sometimes feel a bit like fiddling while Rome burns. Yet, at this turning point for the planet, scientists, policymakers, and activists have woken up to the power of stories in the fight against global warming. In Literature for a Changing Planet, Martin Puchner ranges across four thousand years of world literature to draw vital lessons about how we put ourselves on the path of climate change—and how we might change paths before it’s too late.

From the Epic of Gilgamesh and the West African Epic of Sunjata to the Communist Manifesto, Puchner reveals world literature in a new light—as an archive of environmental exploitation and a product of a way of life responsible for climate change. Literature depends on millennia of intensive agriculture, urbanisation, and resource extraction, from the clay of ancient tablets to the silicon of e-readers. Yet literature also offers powerful ways to change attitudes toward the environment. Puchner uncovers the ecological thinking behind the idea of world literature since the early nineteenth century, proposes a new way of reading in a warming world, shows how literature can help us recognise our shared humanity, and discusses the possible futures of storytelling.

If we are to avoid environmental disaster, we must learn to tell the story of humans as a species responsible for global warming. Filled with important insights about the fundamental relationship between storytelling and the environment, Literature for a Changing Planet is a clarion call for readers and wri