Deeply influenced by emotional, ethical, and ecological principles, John Steinbeck developed a holistic ideology to describe and analyze the relationships among individuals, society, and the more-than-human world. Although he explored environmental issues with ecological insight and philosophical contemplation that placed him well beyond his literary and scientific contemporaries, Steinbeck’s contributions to modern ecological inquiry and environmental thought have received only intermittent attention from literary scholars. Throughout his writing, Steinbeck develops a view of intellectual holism that encourages (perhaps even enables) us to dovetail science and ethics as we attempt to construct a new environmental paradigm. Viewing the world through his holistic lens, Steinbeck was able to see the global ecosystem, local environments, human communities, and even minute tide pools as objects of scientific and artistic inquiry. Specifically, it is my contention that the American environmental movement owes a greater debt to John Steinbeck than it realizes. In short, John Steinbeck made significant contributions to the growing awareness of human-nature interconnectedness and the parallels between social ills and ecological ailments. Yet, for whatever reasons Steinbeck is not granted a position of honor alongside the other giants of American environmental thought. Now witnessing the full blossoming of 21st century environmentalism, it is useful to cast a reflexive eye upon our ideological forebears with the intent to better understand the genealogy of the American environmental movement. Doing so will not only provide a richer and fuller family tree, but will also promote additional flourishing of new approaches to solving ongoing environmental troubles. / Master of Arts

This thesis, Birdpoetic Worlds: Sensing the more-than-human worlds through Nina Södergren’s bird poems, analyses a selection of poems by Swedish poet Nina Södergren (1924–2015) from the collection Högt ärade trana: Nya dikter och urval av tidigare poesi* (2012),  through the lens of ecocriticism and animism. The aim is to identify and explore how her bird poetics can function as an invitation to sense a relational experience and interconnectedness with the more-than-human world, especially through attentiveness. Examples of bird poetry by a small selection of different poets will be explored to provide a broader context of the genre. The analyses will be followed by reflections about going beyond the written human language, transitioning from reading to listening, immersing in nature’s soundscapes, and experiencing it attentively firsthand. It explores the different linguistic, poetic, and embodied approaches, and what these mean for interconnectedness will be discussed. The entrance point to the contextual review is The Bird Symphony by Nils Aslak Valkeapää. * Translated: Highly honored crane: New poems and a selection of earlier poetry. / Denna uppsats, Birdpoetic Worlds: Sensing the more-than-human worlds through Nina Södergren’s bird poems, analyserar ett urval av dikter av poeten Nina Södergren (1924–2015) från samlingen Högt ärade trana: Nya dikter och urval av tidigare poesi (2012), genom en ekokritisk och animistisk lins. Syftet är att identifiera och utforska hur hennes fågelpoetik kan fungera som en inbjudan att känna en relationell upplevelse och samhörighet med den mer-än-mänskliga världen, särskilt genom uppmärksamhet. Som en kort bakgrund presenteras exempel på fågelpoesi av olika poeter. Efter analysen finns en reflektion kring att gå bortom det litterära mänskliga språket, genom övergången från att läsa till att lyssna och fördjupa sig i naturens ljudlandskap, att uppmärksamt uppleva dem på egen hand. Den utforskar de olika språkliga, poetiska och förkroppsligade tillvägagångssätten och vad dessa betyder för samhörigheten diskuteras. Ingången till den kontextuella genomgången är Fågelsymfonin av Nils Aslak Valkeapää.