Customer Reviews

Earth House Hold

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From the outset, I have to say that I like Gary Snyder a lot. Less pretentious than Ferlenghetti and more perceptive than Ginsberg, his poems are like modern haiku, brilliant observations and juxtapositions that somehow manage to express what most artists simply cannot.

_Earth House Home_ is a collection of Snyder's prose, which happily enjoys the same distinction. It's an eclectic mix, with journal excerpts that read more like rough notes for poetry; book reviews that illuminate their subjects from unexpected angles; an account of day-to-day life at a Zen temple in Kyoto; and more, concluding with my favourite section, an almost Joycean account of Snyder's views on society and culture.

Get this, any way you can. You won't regret it. Also recommended for those just discovering Synder: _No Nature_, a 'collected works' of sorts.

An outstanding collection of daily entries on hiking and climbing expeditions, where Kerouac, Whalen and others go up Mt. Crater, on Buddhist and Hindu ideas, on his trip to India with Orlovsky and Ginsberg and near the end of this journal; some essays on the new emerging psychedelic subculture - the 1967 Human Be-In, the subculture which existed throughout antiquity of the Gnosis, mystics, community and tribe. The idea of a matrilineal society, tribal, indigenous and I can so much relate to this type of open consciousness, the opening of the doors of perception in nature and mother earth and loving each other in emptiness - concept free- moments of the mind. I was also moved by his experience in an Ashram on a Japanese Island.

It's the year 2006 and its all new material for me. It seems I personally know Snyder when reading this. Much of the beats bring you right with them. I see what moved John Suiter in his "Poets Peaks," as I am hiking up New Jersey and New York Mountains I can feel much of these words.

I only regret that I was not with Snyder and the beats, that I have not been in certain areas of the East, that I was not with the later tribal communities; such communities that were far removed from today's one-sided Manichean society. The difference is in the level of consciousness; one aware of role playing identities, the other lost in subjectivity.

"A lot of it is simply being aware of the clouds and wind."

This is my favorite book in the world. Period. Why? I suppose the attraction is Snyder's diamond cutter clarity and surface simplicity, coupled with his rhythmic West Coast venacular - this work woke me from my own "dogmatic slumber" and set me on a lifetime of travel.

Snyder may have been a Beat, but I would argue, only vicariously - that is, while some of the other "Beats" became verbose and morbidly self-absorbed, Snyder on the other hand conitnued to live according to his own quirky, West Coast intuitive understanding of the universe (learned from mountain peaks and bear droppings) beyond the modern materialistic social matrix that many of us find ourselves being gobbled up by. Here, Snyder offers us an alternative, or a reminder, that there are other ways to live, not just according to rigid social taboos; as such, he continues to influence many young people, even until today.

More importantly, perhaps, is that while many writers dabbled in Zen, Snyder LIVED it, moving to Kyoto in 1956 to study Rinzai Zen, and remaining in Japan on and off until to 1968.

The work that most moves me is "Tanker Notes." These stark prose/poetry journal entries were obviously written by someone who PRACTICES what they preach, with a keen, Zen-like attention to the task at hand, whether cleaning a ship valve or conversing with a drunken crew mate. In this sense, Snyder is a true boddhisattva, a real Dharma Bum, and what I like most about Snyder his is earthy honesty. He is not afraid to "go off course" so to speak, like (say) a drunken stupor or sampling the local nightlife in some exortic port - he wants to EXPERIENCE the world.

I cannot recommend this book enough. It you don't "get it," don't fret - it is not for everyone...but I think the fact that he travelled, studied, and returned to teach about environmental studies at UC Davis shows that Snyder, though at times blissfully playful and at peace in the universe, has a serious side as well.

Buy it today!

Great book. Be prepared to read more than once. Its short but satisfying. Highly recommend.